


Love and Magic

by TrueheartZen



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Romance, Teen Pregnancy, Ten years post pacifism, Well she's in college, boss monster stuff, i spend a lot of time talking about how souls work, just go for it everyonr who gives it a chance loves it trust me, nature of souls, nerds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-05-27 09:30:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 35,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6279019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrueheartZen/pseuds/TrueheartZen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Frisk returns from her first semester of college pregnant, the first person she turns to is her best friend and partner in crime, Sans. But when despite everything, they can't hide their feelings for each other, will the differences between magic and determination push them apart? Cross post from Fanfiction.net</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Cinnamon Scented Truth

Despite how much she missed her family, Frisk was not excited to come home for winter break. It wasn’t that she had made great friends that she would miss (because she really hadn’t) or that she really wanted to continue working towards her major, but because, well, she knew as soon as she got back home, she wouldn’t want to come back.  


Her attending college had really been her Mom’s dream. Tori had raised her while going to college herself, in order to become a teacher (which she did on top of both her queenly and motherly duties), and couldn’t imagine a world where Frisk wouldn’t attend as well. While Frisk was perfectly content to take the job Grillby had offered her and spend her life with her immortal family and friends, the Queen of Monsters would have none of her excuses. She wanted to give Frisk the chance to see the world, rather than spend her entire life in just the tiny section that the majority of the monster race inhabited.  


And it wasn’t to say that Frisk completely flopped her first semester. She had people that she ate with at lunch, and she had maintained decent grades in her classes, despite how many weekends she spent at parties, trying to avoid being lonely in her room, because coming home every weekend would have disappointed her parents terribly. But, truth be told, Frisk wasn’t interested in seeing the world. She believed that people left home because they wanted something more, and Frisk had everything she ever wanted. Friends, family, a happy home. That is all she ever dreamed of when she climbed Mt. Ebott alone, all those years ago, and now she had all that and a lot more.  


Only now, as she looked down at the pregnancy test in her hands, she realized that she had something she didn’t want, as well as a whole new host of reasons why she should have never left home.  


  


“HUMAN. WHY ARE YOU SO SILENT. IS SOMETHING WRONG?” Papyrus asked, turning his attention on her instead of the road. He had driven the three hours to come get her, as Frisk hadn’t brought her car to college, and while she hadn’t meant to give her friend the silent treatment, she wasn’t exactly being the best company either.  


“I’m okay, Pap. Just a lot on my mind.”  


“WELL IT IS A LONG DRIVE, SO GO AHEAD AND UNLOAD IT.”  


She couldn’t tell Papyrus. Not until she decided how she was going to handle this. Papyrus was the best friend she could ask for, but he was horrible at keeping secrets.  


Only that begged the question. Who could she tell first? Her first thought was to tell her Sans, because she told him most everything (over skype, every night that he wasn’t working and she wasn’t partying, to the constant annoyance of her roommate), but this? She wasn’t sure.  


“YOU FAILED A CLASS, DIDN’T YOU? I, PAPYRUS, HAVE NEVER FAILED AT ANYTHING, BUT I AM SURE THAT IT REALLY BOTHERS YOU TO HAVE –“  


“I didn’t fail, Pap, but thanks. I did pretty well this semester.”  


“I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT! THIS CALLS FOR A CELEBRATORY DINNER. WHERE SHOULD WE STOP?”  


“I’m not really hungry. Maybe later though.” However, she really, really had to pee. Which was annoying, because they had only been on the road about half an hour and she knew she had gone before they left. “Can we hit a rest stop though?”  


“NO GAS STATION SNACKS. I CAME PREPARED WITH HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES.”  


Frisk loved Papyrus, she really did, but it was going to be a long drive.  


* * *

Frisk sat politely though the homecoming dinner that her parents had prepared, even enjoying herself at times, especially when Pap and Undyne got up to their usual antics. She had missed them all so much, after all, and even with everything that had gone on the past semester weighing heavily upon her, she felt more relaxed than she had in ages. She had missed being home terribly, after all, and while Fall Break hadn’t been that long ago, it wasn’t nearly enough.  


She looked up from her reverie to see Sans watching her, a glimmer of concern on her old friend’s face. Her stomach entertained a small flutter of emotion, which wasn’t new, but wasn’t helping matters, because every time his eyes met hers, she had wanted to tell him everything. She smiled, hoping to dispel his concern, but should have known better.  


“Why the long face, Frisk?” Sans asked. “I thought you were a human, not a horse.” 

“SANS.” Papyrus was unamused as usual, but Frisk chuckled at the joke. “IF THEY WON’T TELL ME THEIR PROBLEM, THEY CERTAINLY AREN’T GOING TO TELL YOU.”  


“Are you having problems, dear?” Her mother asked, concerned. Suddenly all eyes were on her. Her stomach turned and she felt a heaviness in her chest.  


“I- uh – um- no. I’m just… heh… tired. Just tired. Long semester, you know.” She was breathing harder, but she tried not to let the panic show. The last thing she needed was for her panic attacks to rear their ugly head. But she had beaten them down once, and she could do it again. She hoped.  


“Of course, dear. We won’t keep you up too late then.” Her father said, and never had she been so grateful for him. Of course, he knew something was up, but her parents always knew.  


“Thanks. I uh, didn’t get a lot of sleep while studying for finals and it’s finally catching up to me.” She said, which was a blatant lie. Frisk had barely studied, but the exhausted college student gambit seemed to be working.  


* * *

While Frisk was never really happy to see her friends leave, it was nice to be able to retreat to her room and collapse on her bed. Her old room was exactly as she left it, slightly cluttered and smelling softly of cinnamon (she made a mental note to thank her mom for picking up more cinnamon wax for her wax burner).  


She was half asleep on her bed, when she heard a soft knock at the door. She considered pretending to actually be asleep, but against her better judgement, murmured “Come in.”  


To her surprise, it was Sans, rather than her parents. She sat up to give her room to sit by her. 

“I know you think you need your beauty sleep, but I realized I forgot to give you your going away present when you left for college, and figured it was time to get around to it.”  


Frisk giggled at her lazy friend. “You could have saved yourself some shopping and made it a Gyftmas present at this point.”  


“I didn’t think of that. Nevermind then.”  


“Nope, you’re already told me, now you have to get me another present.” She grinned. 

He handed her a small package wrapped in newspaper comics. “Eh, I could always just add my name to whatever Papyrus gets you when he isn’t looking.”  


“I’m surprised you don’t do that anyway.”  


“It’s because he caught on that I’d been doing it, and now he hides them. It’s more of a hassle to find his weird hiding places than just go shopping. Besides, I already got you something for Gyftmas.”  


Frisk felt a slight blush in her cheeks. “You really don’t need to get me anything, but thank you.”  


“Stop pretending you don’t love it when people buy you things and unwrap your gift.”  


“If you insist.” She replied, doing as he asked. It was a framed photo of her and Sans crossing the finish line of the three-legged race they had (by some grace of god) won at the Royal Picnic last summer. In the background, she could see Alphys struggling to keep up with Undyne – who was gaining on them, and Papyrus dragging along Mettaton, who was waving at the paparazzi alongside the race route rather than pulling his own weight. Frisk couldn’t smiled wide at the memory. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”  


“I figured you could keep it on your desk to remind yourself that you’re a champion.”  


“I don’t know if winning a three-legged race makes me a champ, but thanks.”  


“Well I’m always rooting for you.” Good old Sans. He always knew what to say.  


Overcome by emotion, Frisk wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in the space between the fuzz of his coat and the bones of his neck. He held her tight, and for the first time since she had left for college, she felt like everything was going to be okay.  


“I missed you.” She murmured.  


“I missed you too.” He replied pulling her closer. Her stomach fluttered again.  


“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?” He asked after they had pulled apart.  


She frowned, looking down at the hand that had almost instinctively landed on her stomach. Traitor. “It’s nothing.”  


“Frisk, I haven’t seen you so bummed out since your hamster died.”  


She had forgotten all about Snowflake. The little white ball of fluff lasted all of a week in her care. Which wasn’t exactly a comforting memory, considering the looming responsibility. Of course, she had been about twelve or thirteen at the time. “This is ah, a little more serious than that.”  


“Ah, I had figured your dorm goldfish had died. Anything other than that isn’t in my area of expertise. Guess you’re on your own.”  


“I had realized that you were an expert pet mourner.”  


“Papyrus has had 13 fish and 3 pet snails to date. And an ant farm.”  


“I thought he still had the ant farm.”  


“The ant farm, yes. The ants, no.”  


“I knew the ants at that picnic looked familiar.”  


“We won’t go into that. Anyway, what was the fish’s name?”  


“You just want me to tell you my problems so you can prove Papyrus wrong.”  


He shrugged. “You caught me.”  


Frisk smiled. Maybe she could tell Sans. He had been her partner in crime since day one, after all. And while he may not be the most understanding, at least at first, he would be the most supportive. And, most importantly, least likely to spill the beans.  


“Can you keep a secret?”  


“We both know I’m too lazy to tell anyone.” Coming from anyone else, it wouldn’t be reassuring. But from her favorite skeleton, she knew she was in good hands.  


Only now, her voice caught in her throat, panic rushing to the surface as she considered saying the words out loud.  


“Breathe, Frisk.” He took her hand in his. His touch was as soothing as ever. “Whatever it is, it’s going to be okay. I promise.”  


She took a deep breath, and then another.  


“Slowly.”  


She couldn’t believe she was being coached in breathing by a being with no lungs, but it wasn’t the first time. He did breathe himself, after all. Somehow. “Promise you won’t judge?” She half whispered.  


“Of course not.”  


“I’m pregnant.”  


Oh god she had said it. Her throat tightened up completely and her vision went fuzzy.  


“Frisk, breathe.” He grabbed both of her hands tight, grounding her. “Breathe, sweetheart. Breathe. Hey, focus. Focus on me, okay? I know I’m not the cutest, but I’m better than whatever you’re panicking about.” He pressed his forehead to hers, holding the back of her head in one hand. She nodded slowly, her breath coming out in squeaky little gasps.  


“I see that violin in your throat still needs tuned. I thought your college had a music program.”  


Frisk smiled weakly, one hand pressed to her hammering chest.  


She was mostly calm before Sans brought back up the subject that had panicked her. “So you’re having a kid, you said?”  


She nodded.  


“Frisk, that’s… that’s pretty awesome. You’ve already found your soulmate. And I know it’s a little early to have kids, like Undyne and Alphys are just starting to consider it, and we haven’t even met the lucky human, but uh-“ Despite the fact that he was encouraging her, he seemed a little said.  


_Wait_. Soulmate?  


“Sans, uh, humans don’t have kids the same way monsters do. Like, I know monster pregnancies are a result of love and magic, rather than-“ She knew that most monsters could have sex too, even though it was usually quite different from the human variety and didn’t result in children, but.. how was she going to explain this one. “The human way is a bit more, um, physical in nature and not necessarily involving love.. at all..” She avoided Sans’ gaze, shame burning on her cheeks.  


He was silent for a moment, apprehension creeping into Frisk’s chest. “That explains why there’s so many humans.”  


“Thanks, Sans.” Tears bit into her eyes.  


“That’s not what I meant, hon.” What was with the pet names tonight? She wasn’t that fragile.  


“I know. It’s just… I feel so stupid.”  


“Hey. Come here.” He pulled her into his lap, and she rested her head on his shoulder. She loved the way they cuddled when one of them was upset, their safe closeness was one of the best parts of their friendship. “Tell me what happened, okay?”  


“It’s not important.” She murmured into his shoulder. “I was at a party, and I was awkward and lonely and he was cute and confident.” It wasn’t the first time she had slept with someone she barely knew.. she had been making that decision a lot, while trying to find her new place in the world. “I don’t even remember his name.” She was pretty certain she knew which one it was, but that didn’t matter, really.  


“I can’t really imagine you ever being awkward and lonely.”  


“I uh, kept that part out of our Skype calls. I didn’t want you to know how unhappy I really was.”  


He petted her back, and she felt herself getting drowsy. She hadn’t been sleeping very well lately, but curled up in her best friend’s arms, she wasn’t sure how well she could stay awake. “I could tell, but I figured if something was really wrong, you’d tell me.”  


“I know. I should have…” She paused. “I just figured if I kept going to parties, I’d wake up one day and I’d have friends.” She let the tears fall. “I knew leaving was a bad idea.”  


“Hey, at least you gave it the old college try. But you’re home now, with your real friends, and that’s the important thing.”  


“You’re the best.” She gave him a squeeze.  


“Nah, I’m just really good at pretending.”  



	2. Deep Rooted Habits

Sans carefully tucked Frisk into her bed, lingering far longer in her room than he should, just breathing in cinnamon and listening to her breathe. She was so beautiful, the lines of worry that her long months away from home had wrought upon her face falling away as she rested, the burdens of her heart settled down, at least for the moment.   


He really had missed her. He knew that letting her get out and seeing the world was important, but it had been a long autumn without his best friend. It was strange, coming home from work and her not already being there, either ready to throw the PlayStation controller at him as he plopped on the couch or giggling in the kitchen with Papyrus as they toed the line between delicious and disaster with their culinary creations. He and Papyrus had been doing fine, but there was definitely a Frisk shaped hole in their lives that no amount of Skype calls could fill.   


She was back now, but not completely, the bright smile on her face constantly dripping down into a pensive frown. He’d give anything to be able to fix it for her, but there wasn’t much he could do, even though he’d literally do anything for her.   


Except, maybe tell her how he really felt.   


But if ever got his hands on that human boy, well, he’d make sure they’d never take advantage of anyone ever again. And while he knew it might just be jealously fueling his anger, someone deserved to pay for the distress that his Frisk was in. Right?   


Maybe not. The decision was as much hers as theirs, after all. But something about the whole situation didn’t feel right to him. Frisk was the only one paying for her decision. She wanted friends, to belong. Not this.   


She deserved so much better than this.   


He closed the door to her room softly, padding down the stairs to find Frisk’s parents in the kitchen, chatting quietly over their nightly cup of tea.   


“Sans, I forgot you were here. Is Frisk still up?” Toriel asked.   


“Nah, she fell asleep on me. She’s worse than I am sometimes.”   


The king looked concerned. “Do you think all she needs is sleep, or is there anything else we can do for her?” She really had everyone worried. Frisk usually lit up the room with her smile, but tonight, well.. it was easy to see that she had gotten very used to being ignored.   


“Just let her rest. Some good food and time with her friends and family is all she needs.” It wasn’t a complete lie, so he didn’t feel as bad saying it. The decision to tell them was Frisk’s, not his, after all.   


“Did she tell you what is wrong?” Toriel asked.   


Sans faltered, unsure of how to respond. There was only so much he was willing to lie about. 

“You don’t have to tell us what she said, as long as she’s talking to someone about it.” She reassured him. “Just, she’s not in any danger, is she?”   


“She told me. And, she’s safe. I promise. If she wasn’t I’d have some road tripping to do tonight. She just.. has a few things she needs to figure out.”   


“I see you’re still making good on that promise to me.” Tori smiled. He had promised to protect her, and while it wasn’t always for the Queen’s sake, he’d be damned if any harm befell her.   


“I’m good for more than just great jokes and naps.” He shrugged.   


“Would you like some tea?” The king asked him.   


“Thanks, but I really need to get back home. Papyrus is still probably waiting up for his bedtime story and he’s going to be cranky tomorrow if he stays up too much longer.”   


“You still read to him?” The Queen asked.   


“Every night.” He smiled. “Anyway, have a good night.”   


“Same to you, Sans.” Asgore replied, with his soft smile. “And thank you.”   


* * *

Papyrus was half asleep when Sans got home, curled up in bed with one of his favorite books. Looked like it was _ABC Bunny_ , again. “Sorry I took so long, bro. Ready for your story?”   


“IS THE HUMAN OKAY?” How Pap managed to make it sound like he was overexcited even while half asleep and murmuring, Sans would never know.   


“She’s going to be fine, bro. Her first semester was rough, that’s all.” That was one way of putting it.   


“MAYBE I SHOULD ENROLL IN COLLEGE. THEN SHE WOULD ALWAYS HAVE A GOOD FRIEND NEARBY.” That wasn’t a half bad idea, really. Papyrus would keep her away from the parties, and Frisk could help him study.   


“What would you major in?”   


“CULINARY ARTS, OF COURSE.” Papyrus had apparently already given the idea some thought. College life probably wasn’t the best thing for him, however.   


“The both of you can’t leave for college, who is going to make me food?”   


“YOU CAN COOK FOR YOURSELF, LAZY BONES.”   


“Grillby’s all day every day it is.”   


“SANS.”   


“Ready for your story?”   


“I’VE BEEN WAITING ALL NIGHT.”   


“All right, all right.” He took the well-loved book from Papyrus and turned to the first page. “Wait, I forgot my reading glasses.”   


“YOU DON’T WEAR GLASSES. YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE EARS HOLD THEM UP.”   


“Sorry, I can’t hear you, I don’t have any ears.”   


“ _SAAAANS_.”   


“Tough crowd tonight.”   


“I’M ALWAYS TOUGH. ESPECIALLY ON HORRIBLE JOKESTERS LIKE YOU.”   


“Are you going to let me read or not?”   


“WHY DO YOU ALWAYS DO THIS?”   


He patted his brother’s head. “Because that’s what brothers are for.” He settled in and opened the book again. He had kept Papyrus up long enough.   


- _A for apple, bright and red. B for bunny, snug a bed. C for crash, D for dash, E for Elsewhere in a flash. F for frog, he’s fat and funny. “Looks like rain.” Says he to bunny_ -  


Soon, Papyrus was snoring away. They rarely made it to Z ( _for zero, close the book,_ ), not from lack of trying on his brother’s part. Sans got up quietly, setting the book on the nightstand, and adjusting his brother’s blankets one more time. He didn’t know what he’d do without his brother. Papyrus could be a handful at times, but without him and Frisk, Sans wasn’t sure where, or even who, he would be.   


He yawned. That was more than enough introspection for one night. It was time for him to turn in.   


* * *

Sans awoke to the sound of his phone ringing. He groped around for it blindly before realizing he needed to retrieve it from his desk, as he had actually remembered to plug it in the night before.   


“Sup?” He asked groggily, not even having bothered to look at the caller before answering.   


“Sans, we can’t find Frisk.” The Queens’s panicked voice greeted him. Now he was awake.   


“What do you mean?”   


“She didn’t come downstairs for breakfast, and we were going to let her sleep, but when I went to check on her, I couldn’t find her anywhere.”   


“Maybe she went for a walk or something?”   


“She didn’t leave a note or anything, and she isn’t answering her phone.”   


Frisk was the type to leave a note, especially since her parents were the type to worry. Of course, she had done similar disappearing acts when she was younger and had nightmares.. “I think I know where she might be. I’ll call you back in a few, okay?”   


Sans dressed quickly, slipping out the back door as not to worry Papyrus. A shortcut later and he found his favorite human right where he expected her to be, dead asleep, nestled in the massive roots of her favorite tree. She had even brought a blanket this time, not that she needed it, as the forest had grown up above Hotland, which kept the area toasty year round.   


He texted the queen to let her know the lost princess was safe, settling himself into a small nook next to Frisk, waiting patiently, albeit a bit drowsily, for her to awaken. He sent a text to Papyrus to let him know his own whereabouts, as well as to expect an extra for lunch, before he allowed himself to doze.   


* * *

“Sans?” Frisk’s soft voice awoke him.   


“Morning, sleeping beauty.” He replied, without opening his eyes-sockets.   


“I did it again, didn’t I?”   


“Well, I didn’t carry you out here.”   


She sighed. “I probably worried my parents.”   


“Only a little, but they knew who to call.” He opened his eyes to look at her. A concerned little frown had taken over her face. “What brought you out here this time?”   


“The usual.” Nightmare.   


“Do you want to talk about it?”   


She shook her head. They had had this conversation many times before, but he wasn’t sure if this one was going to end with her telling him.   


He got up, deciding not to push it. “Come on, Pap’s making tomato soup and grilled cheese.” He offered his hand to help her up.   


She smiled, taking his offered hand. “My favorite.”   


“I always had you pegged as more of a cream of celery kind of girl.” He teased. Frisk hated cream of anything soups.   


“More like cream of keep it away from me.” She was still holding his hand.   


“Heh, I’ve never heard of that one.”   


Frisk took a step forward, faltering a little on the uneven roots in her still drowsy state. Sans pulled her close to him, helping her onto steady ground. His hand rested at her hip for an extra moment before he pulled it away. What was he doing? She was going to notice if he kept this up.   


She was having a kid, after all. The last thing she needed was her best friend trying to flirt with her.   


“You okay, Sans?”   


“Huh? Yeah, of course.”   


She didn’t seem convinced, but she did drop the subject, and they walked through the forest together in silence for some time. Newest Home, the city of monsters, was back in sight and their breath was beginning to get frosty, when Frisk stopped.   


“Something wrong?” He asked.   


“I meant to tell you something, but I forgot.” A tiny, nervous smile played at her lips.   


“That doesn’t work on me.”   


“Tough luck.” There was trepidation in her voice.   


“Come on, Princess, enlighten your loyal subject.” He teased, her lips playing into a smile.   


“Well, fair court jester, it’s more of a thing I wanted to ask, really.”   


“I’m an open book. Just be careful with my spine.”   


“Well, this is going to sound weird, but you know how Papyrus isn’t really interested in dating?”   


Oh no. “He already turned you down once, do you really want to try again?”   


“No! I mean, Papyrus is lovely, but, uh, I was actually wondering if..” She paused, and Sans wasn’t sure what to expect next. “I was wondering if you were the same way?”   


He scrambled for the right words as his phone rang, saving him from having to respond. “SANS.” Papyrus’s voice rang out the second he accepted the call. “GET YOUR LAZY BUTT HOME, IT’S PAST TIME FOR LUNCH.”   


“We’re on our way, bro.”   


“FINALLY. ASK FRISK HOW MANY SANDWHICHES SHE WOULD LIKE.”   


He looked up at Frisk, who held up one finger in response.   


“She says just one, please.”   


“I’LL MAKE HER TWO, JUST IN CASE.” Papyrus replied before hanging up. It was a good thing his name wasn’t patience.   



	3. Tender Loving Care

Frisk heart was still pounding in her chest as she sat down at the table with Papyrus and Sans. What could have possibly possessed her to say that? She was curious about what his answer would be, but the way she had asked, he probably thought she had lost her mind. She probably had lost her mind, but something about the way he had been looking at her lately and..   


She had enough problems right now without getting rejected by her best friend, Frisk reminded herself. She couldn’t let her emotions get the best of her right now, but being pregnant really made her into a mess. She couldn’t even be around her best friend without trying to flirt with him, and he probably thought she was desperate or easy or...   


She really couldn’t handle the thought of that right now.   


“HUMAN, ARE YOU FEELING OKAY? YOU HAVEN’T EVEN TOUCHED MY SANDWICH CREATION.” 

Creation was right, it had three different kinds of cheese, as well as sprinkling what seemed to be fresh basil throughout. “It looks lovely Paps, I’ve just got an upset stomach, and I’m waiting on it to settle.”   


“LET ME MAKE YOU SOME WARM MILK.”   


Before she could refuse, Papyrus had all but leapt from the table, and was loudly rummaging around in the fridge.   


Sans, on the other hand, was already on his third grilled cheese. She wished she could eat as heartily as he did, but her stomach was bound by human laws, rather than magical ones.   


Sans looked up from pulling his sandwich in half for easier soup dunking. “You know Paps won’t let you get away with skipping lunch, Princess.” Now princess was a pet name she could handle, if only because Sans wasn’t the only one that referred to her as such. But still, something about the way he said it made her.. no. She was not doing this right now.   


She started on her sandwich, rather than try to argue with Sans. It did look good, after all, and it was just the comfort she needed. Good food made nearly everything better, after all. Especially anything made by Papyrus.   


Papyrus returned then with a mug of hot milk for her (as well as a napkin for Sans). While she didn’t really like warm milk, she accepted it anyway, and took enough sips to appease her worried friend. She felt terrible for worrying him the day before, as she knew he just wanted to help her feel better.   


After lunch, the three of them worked together on dishes, and Papyrus made her up a Tupperware container of leftover soup to take home with her. Frisk was never really certain which container belonged to who, with the way they bounced back and forth between Frisk’s home and theirs.   


“It’s not like the queen doesn’t feed her, Papyrus.” Sans teased, as Papyrus offered to make her some extra sandwiches to go home with the soup.   


“YOU JUST WANT ALL OF THE SOUP TO YOURSELF.”   


Sans looked over at the soup pot, which still held a good gallon or so of soup. “Nah bro, I think we’ve got plenty here.” Papyrus always made things in bulk, and the six gallon soup pot had been a Gyftmas present from Frisk herself.   


“HUMAN, WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN ME ON MY RUN?” Between Pap calling her human and Sans calling her kid, Frisk didn’t know what to do sometimes. What were they going to do when she had a human kid of her own?   


“One of your death marches, you mean?” Sans asked.   


“FIFTY LAPS IS NOT A DEATH MARCH. IT’S A WARM UP.”   


“Thanks for the offer, Papyrus, but I think I’ll stay here and keep Sans from napping.”   


“GOOD LUCK WITH THAT.”   


“So how do you intend to keep me awake?” Sans inquired once Papyrus had left for his jog.  


“You still owe me a rematch in Mortal Kombat.”   


“Oh, it’s on.”   


* * *

“How many times did I beat you?” Sans teased, Frisk having dropped the controller onto her lap to keep herself from throwing it. “Seven? Nope, wait, definitely nine. Or was it ten?” As if he wasn’t counting.   


“Quiet, you.” She replied, batting at him with her foot. “One more time.” She grabbed her controller. “Let’s just get to the point.” She complained, skipping through everything to restart the match.   


Of course, he beat her again.   


“You look frustrated, Frisk.” Sans gloated as she screamed in exasperation. Did he have to be such a sore winner?   


“I’m going to get you for this.” She threatened.   


Sans leaned back, looking up at her from his seat on the floor. “That’s what you said last time. And the time before -”  


Frisk hit him with one of the decorative couch pillows.   


Soon, they were running through the house, throwing pillows (and the occasional bone) at each other and giggling. She was hiding behind the doorway to the kitchen, trying to hide her heavy breathing as she waited to strike, when she felt a spark of magic snake around her ankles and flip her upside down, the pillow flying out of her grasp. “No fair!” She screeched, holding her shirt up with one hand as she tried to stop Sans from ticking her with the other. She felt her phone vibrate and then slide out of her pants pocket, hitting the ground with a thud as she gave up on defending and went straight for the offensive, both hands going straight for his lower vertebrae, where she knew he was the most ticklish.   


He dropped to the ground almost instantly, unable to withstand her counterattack. “Looks like I gotcha.” She gasped, as Sans lay on the floor, giggling. Her shirt slid off of her head and down around her wrists, and her arms having grown too heavy to lift, she let it drop to the floor.   


“You win this round.” Sans wheezed, clutching his ribs.   


“SANS! FRISK! I’M HOME AND I BROUGHT - WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?” Papyrus’ voice startled her. She hadn’t even heard him come in. “HUMAN WHY ARE YOU UNDRESSED? SANS, WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?”   


“Tickle war, bro.” Sans replied, looking up at Papyrus from the floor.   


“Is that what they’re calling it now?” Frisk heard her Mom’s voice, and did her best to twist around to find her, managing to upset her stomach in the process.   


“Heh- Hello, Your Majesty.” Sans turned a very bright blue, and Frisk realized what things probably looked like.   


“Hi, Mom.” Frisk said sheepishly, trying to ignore the tightening in her chest.   


“Sans, would you mind putting my daughter down? You’ll make her sick like that.”   


“Of- of course.” He let her go instantly, and as Frisk realized she was headed straight for the ground, Sans realized his mistake, quickly making her entirely blue in order to set her down gently “Whoops.. Sorry, kiddo.”   


As Frisk quickly pulled her shirt on and returned her phone to her pocket (she had missed a call from her mother), the headache hit her. Hard. She curled up, setting her head between her knees and groaning in pain.   


“SANS! YOU BROKE THE HUMAN AGAIN.”   


“She just got a headache from all the blood rushing to her head.” Her mom explained gently to Papyrus as she knelt beside Frisk. “Would you like me to heal you, my child?”   


Frisk shook her head no, and immediately regretted the movement. The last time her mother tried to heal her, Frisk had grown fur that took months to shed (which would have been nice in winter, but it had been mid-July). It seemed that magical healing worked best on children.   


“I CAN GET YOU SOME WEENIE TABLETS.” Papyrus offered. She groaned a little, he was so loud.   


“Weenie tablets?” The queen asked, confused.   


“It’s what Undyne calls painkillers.” Sans explained. “Go ahead and get her some, bro.”   


“And a cold compress, if you would.” Her mother added. “Would you like me to take you home so you can rest?”   


“No.” She murmured. She really didn’t want to have to move. “This spot on the floor is nice.”   


Her mother sighed. “Assuming what you two were doing was simply roughhousing, you need to remember that you can’t play as hard as a monster can.”   


“ _I know_.” Frisk groaned. She had heard the lecture before.   


“And Sans, it would do you well to remember that as well.”   


“Yes ma’am.” Sans replied. “We’ll ah, try to not get so _frisky_ in the future.”   


“ ** _SANS!_** ” Papyrus yelled. It felt like he was yelling right in her ear.   


“Papyrus, inside voice, please.” Her mother said, her voice soft and soothing.   


“IS THIS BETTER?” Papyrus said, softer, but still loud in terms of energy.   


“Try talking with your hands, bro.” Sans suggested. The two of them were fluent in sign language, and had successfully endeavored to teach Frisk as well.   


Soon, Frisk was set up on the couch with a cold compress over her eyes.   


“Papyrus wants to know if you’d like something to eat.” Sans said softly. He was perched on the floor, near her head.   


“Her father and I were actually planning on taking her out for dinner.” Her mother said.   


“No Papyrus, I don’t think they were going to take her to Grillby’s.” Sans said. “The King and Queen have the same weird standards that you do.”   


Frisk stuck out her tongue. ‘I like Grillby’s.’ she signed into Sans’ palm.   


‘I knew we were friends for a reason.’ He signed back, his fingers curling around hers once he was done. She was certain that he was just leaving her the opportunity to respond, but..   


“We have reservations at En Pointe, in the next town over.” Her mother explained, and Frisk groaned softly. If she went, her parents would probably ask her about what had been bothering her, and she wasn’t sure if she was ready to tell them. She would have to eventually, but the idea made her increasingly anxious.   


“Frisk says she’ll take a rain check, but you and the Dadster should go have fun.” Sans said. Which was not what Frisk had said, in fact, she hadn’t said anything, but she wasn’t going to complain.   


“If you’re sure, dear.” Her mom sounded kind-of hurt, but Frisk wasn’t exactly feeling up to fine dining. In fact, she was starting to feel a little nauseated.   


Make that a lot nauseated.   


“Sans, you’re in the splash zone.” She warned aloud, which was a poor choice with the bile rising in her throat. As if by magic (to be honest, it was by magic) a wastebasket appeared in her hands just in time. She felt a tickle on the back of her neck, blue magic holding back her hair.   


“My child, are you all right?”   


“I’m swearing off tomato soup for a while.” Frisk murmured, her forehead against the cool metal rim of the wastebasket.   


* * *

Frisk had no idea how Papyrus and Sans had accomplished it, especially considering the scene her mother had walked in on, but they had convinced her to leave Frisk in their care for the night. For the moment though, she was alone with Sans, her mother having left to go pack her an overnight bag, and Papyrus on a ‘short’ run with Undyne and Alphys.   


“How are you feeling?” Sans asked , switching out her cold compress.   


“Really gross.”   


“Sorry I made you sick.”   


“I don’t think it was your fault. I didn’t get my usual morning sickness this morning, so it was only a matter of time.”   


“Morning sickness?”   


More like all the time sickness. “Comes with my current… condition.”   


“How far along are you, anyway?”   


“Seven weeks.” She replied, surprised she was able to talk about it without panicking like she had the night before. It got easier with time, she supposed.   


“Human gestation period is nine months, right?” He sat on the arm of the couch beside her head.   


“Give or take.” Her stomach was warm beneath her hands. “I just, I-I don’t know if I can do it. Be a mom, I mean. I really do want to keep it, but I can barely take care of myself, let alone a kid.” She paused as her headache started pounding again.   


Sans put his hand on her forehead, a little trickle of magic easing her pain.   


“Careful, I don’t need an exposed skull.”   


“I think it would be cute.” He teased.   


“I’ll get you an x-ray.”   


“Ohh. Risqué.”   


She didn’t know what to do with him sometimes. “Sans, oh my god.”   


“I’m just messing with you. Once you’ve seen one skeleton, you’ve seen them all. Anyway, what are you so worried about, baby-wise?”   


“I don’t know, it’s a huge responsibility. They’re expensive and cry a lot… but they’re also really sweet and cute. Like I really didn’t want it at first, but the more I thought having an abortion I..” And putting it up for adoption was out of the question. Having ran away from her third overcrowded foster home when she climbed Mt. Ebott, Frisk wasn’t about to give her kid up. “I just don’t know if I can do it alone.”   


“You won’t be alone, you’ve got all of us. Do you think we’re going to ditch you just because you have a kid?”   


It wasn’t what she had meant, but it did make her feel better. She felt bad for burdening him with her problems all the time, but he was such a good listener. “Nah, I’m sure that Pap and Undyne will outdo themselves trying to help me take care of it. And my parents are pretty good with kids too.” Of course, their track record wasn’t the greatest, but she wouldn’t hold it against them.   


“Is there any chance of the kid’s dad being in the picture?”   


“I haven’t even told him. I.. I really don’t want anything to do with him.” The last time she had seen him, he was making some of the worst jokes about monsters she had ever heard. She was not about to let her child grow up around someone like that.   


“I’m sure you have your reasons.” He sounded almost.. relieved? But maybe it was just her imagination. She was good at reading too much into things. “And for the record, I think you’ll make a pretty good mom.”   


“Thanks, Sans.” That really meant a lot. It wasn’t the easiest thing she would ever do, but she had fought with (and spared) gods, not to mention helping lead the monster race from the underground. How hard could parenthood be?   



	4. Taking Care of Frisk-ness

Sans left Frisk to doze on the couch, Papyrus having asked him for help making ‘sickness fighting’ food. Papyrus didn’t really understand that a migraine wasn’t a sickness, but he let his brother be. Taking care of the people he cared about was what Pap did best, after all.  


“I don’t know if she can handle much more than like, chicken noodle soup right now, bro.” Sans said, trying to haggle his brother down from making something complex.  


“I SHALL CREATE THE BEST CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP EVER.”  


“Simple foods, bro. Like, minimal spices.” He couldn’t help but recall the first time Frisk was sick. The three of them had gone trick or treating, and both Frisk and Pap had eaten all of their candy in the span of like, half an hour, and Pap decided to help by making chili that was mostly just a blend of spicy peppers because he had the idea in his skull that strongly flavored food would scare off her tummy ache.  


“THAT SOUNDS TERRIBLE. BAD TASTING FOOD WON’T HELP HER GET WELL.” Sweet, impressionable Pap. He really needed to stop taking life advice from Undyne.  


“She’s got a tummy ache. Not the plague. A simple can of chicken noodle would probably do her good. Maybe some crackers.”  


“CANNED SOUP IS LAZY.”  


“You know how the best way to get well when you’re sick is to get extra sleep?”  


“UNFORTUNETLY.”  


“Laziness fights sickness. Therefore, lazy foods are great for when you don’t feel well.”  


“YOU PROBABLY HAVE A POINT. YOU MUST BE SICK ALL THE TIME THEN. HEARTSICK, THAT IS. NYEH-HEH-HEH.”  


“Heartsick? I don’t even have a heart.”  


“FRISK MUST HAVE STOLEN IT THEN.”  


If it was obvious enough for Papyrus to notice, it had to be bad. And unlike earlier, his timing was terrible. “Heh, good one, Papyrus. Best joke I’ve heard from you in a while..” He chuckled nervously. He had tried to keep his sad attempts at flirting down to a minimum, but he had missed Frisk more than anything. Now he was going to pay for it.  


“ALPHYS SAID IF YOU TWO DIDN’T KISS ALREADY SHE WAS GOING TO WRITE A FANFICTION ABOUT IT.”  


Sans made a mental note to murder Alphys. After he reminded her that she wasn’t allowed to write fanfiction about real people. “You’re all turning into real comedians on me.” God, he hoped Frisk was still sleeping. “Anyway, why don’t you run to the store for me, Papyrus? I’ll write you a list..”  


Nervous sparks crackled orange on San’s hands as he searched for something to write on. Alphys really had no idea how dead she was. Of course, he really should have known something was up when Pap said he was going on a run with the both of them. Alphys was as much of a runner as Pap was a secret keeper, after all.  


* * *

After dispatching Papyrus to the store, and texting Alphys that she had better start deciding which of her anime figurines she wanted her dust scattered on, Sans crept into the living room to see if Frisk was still sleeping.  


She appeared to be, her chest rising and falling slowly, and not appearing to have moved since Sans had been in the kitchen. “Hey Frisk?” he whispered, looking down at her. “You awake?” 

Her breathing caught for a moment, but otherwise, she didn’t stir. He sat on the floor by her head, sighing in relief. He knew she was a heavy sleeper, which was definitely a blessing with Papyrus around.  


He pulled his knees to his chest, leaning back against the couch. The sound of her breathing soothed his nerves. If she was going to find out how he felt, he was at least going to tell her himself, dammit. And not because the meddling nerds decided it was time, either.  


Truth be told, however, he had been planning on telling her how he felt. He had even maybe mentioned to Alphys that he was thinking about it, but this whole thing with her having a kid, well.. she probably didn’t want someone as irresponsible as him trying to crash into her life right now.  


The question she had asked him this morning though, what had that been about? Of course, she asked a lot of questions as to how he and Papyrus worked (especially when she was younger and so curious about everything), and he had often asked similar questions of her, but this one in particular, well.. it was hard to write off as casual curiosity.  


“Sans?” Frisk’s voice drew him out of his reverie, her hand resting on his shoulder.  


“How are you feeling?”  


“I had a weird dream, it woke me up.”  


“What about?” She really had been sleeping.  


“Can monsters and humans have kids together?”  


“I’m not sure.” If he hadn’t just texted Alphys a death threat, he would have asked her. “Who are you making babies with now?” The joke was out of his mouth before he had the chance to realize that it was maybe a little too soon for that. Hopefully she was still too drowsy to notice.  


“Mnm.. Tiny little baby bones.” She seemed to have misheard him, but he was starting to wonder if she was coherent, or talking in her sleep again.  


He decided to humor her. “If they grow up to be tall and dorky, they’re Pap’s.”  


“I’ll remember that.”  


“You still sound exhausted. Go back to sleep.”  


“Mmkay.” Soon she was snoring softly. It was hard not to fall in love with someone who could nap as hard as he did.  


* * *

Papyrus returned from the store having disregarded the list Sans had written, but he didn’t expect any less. Papyrus had decided that spaghetti would be the best to make Frisk feel better. Since it wasn’t ‘apparently creatures with no stomach can throw up’ chili, he decided to let it go.  


Frisk stumbled into the kitchen. “Can I help?”  


“YOU CAN DICE THE ONIONS. JUST DON’T LET THEM MAKE YOU CRY.”  


“It’s not my fault they always pick on me.” Frisk replied. She walked over to the cutting board, then glanced around the kitchen, confused. “Where are the knives?”  


“Knife block is over by the sink.” Sans replied, looking up from the clove of garlic he was trying to peel. His kingdom for fingernails. “Wait, can we trade jobs?” If she was too drowsy to remember where the knives were kept in a kitchen she had spent half of her life in, then she probably didn’t need to be using any.  


“WAIT, YOU’RE STILL SICK. GO BACK AND LIE DOWN.”  


“Can I at least sit in here with you guys?”  


“You must be feeling pretty _bone_ -ly if you want our company.”  


“It’s hard being the only _body_ around.” She replied, sitting down next to him.  


“NOT YOU TOO, HUMAN.”  


“Come on bro, don’t be so _marrow_ minded.”  


“SANS.”  


“Why do you have to be so _stern_ um, Pap, these puns are _sans_ ational.” Frisk giggled, giving Sans a high five.  


After being kicked out of the kitchen, Sans and Frisk decided to curl up on the couch and watch Pokémon. Of course, they had already seen the entire original series, or at least, Frisk had. Sans had napped through most of it, and things didn’t seem to be going any differently this time. She had just dropped a pillow and her head into his lap when he felt himself getting sleepy. Kicked back with Frisk warm against his side, it was so naptime.  


“I HAVE DECIDED THAT YOU TWO ARE SINGLE BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO LAZY TO DATE.” Papyrus’ voice awoke him sometime later. Judging by the rich garlicky smell, it was suppertime.  


“I thought it was because Sans doesn’t have the _guts_ to ask any _body_.” Frisk murmured.  


“What’s your excuse then?” He poked her side. A weak comeback, but she had gotten him good.  


“I HAD HOPED THAT YOU WOULD BE LESS PUNNY AFTER A NAP, BUT I SEEM TO BE MISTAKEN.”  


“Maybe we’ve caught a case of a-pun-dicitits.” He said, earning him a giggle from Frisk.  


“I HOPE IT’S NOT CONTAGIOUS.”  


“Come here bro, and we can test your hy-pun-thesis.” He stuck out his tongue, or at least, his cobalt blue mockery of one.  


“YOU’RE NOT GOING TO LICK ME, ARE YOU? SANS, YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT GERMS.”  


“Come here Pap, I’ll keep you safe.” Frisk sat up and threw out her arms, and Papyrus leaned down to give her a hug.  


“THANK YOU HUMAN, I KNEW I COULD TRUST- NOOOOO.” Frisk had kissed his forehead. Papyrus flopped onto his back on the floor. “HUMAN KISSES! MY ONLY WEAKNESS!” It must run in the family.  


“I think I broke him.”  


“I SEE YOU ARE STILL HOPELESSLY IN LOVE WITH THE GREAT PAPYRUS.”  


“You never did help me find second best, you know.”  


“I MIGHT HAVE AN OPTION FOR YOU. NYEH-HEH-HEH.” Pap was going to be the death of him one of these days.  


“Do I smell something burning?” Sans changed the subject quickly.  


“MY GARLIC KNOTS!”  


* * *

After supper, they had decided to watch a movie and surprisingly, Sans had managed to stay awake through the first half of _Beauty and the Beast_ , and was hoping to actually get to see how it ended when a yawn overtook him. So much for that, then. He leaned his head against his brother’s shoulder.  


“YOU CAN SLEEP IN MY BED, FRISK. I’LL TAKE THE COUCH.” Papyrus asked. Apparently she was getting droopy eyed, too, which was surprising for how much she had slept today.  


“She can sleep in my bed, I’ll take the couch, Pap. You’re too long to sleep on it.”  


“WHEN’S THE LAST TIME YOUR SHEETS WERE WASHED?”  


“Three days ago. I remember distinctly because you almost put me in the washer with them.”  


“IT WASN’T A MISTAKE.”  


He heard Frisk giggle from the other side of the great wall of Papyrus.  


“I had already had one shower that day, I promise I didn’t need another one.”  


“YOU SMELLED LIKE GREASE.”  


“Someone had to change the oil in Grillby’s car, and it not safe for him to do it.”  


“So that’s how you pay your tab.” Frisk said sleepily.  


“Come on, Princess, looks like it _pasta_ bed time.”  


“Can we make a big bed in the living room, like we used to when we were little?”  


That required moving their mattresses downstairs, but what else was magic for? “How’s about it, Pap?”  


“WILL YOU STILL READ ME A STORY?”  


“I will read you both a story.”  


After setting up their nest on the floor of the living room, Sans snuggled in between Papyrus and Frisk with the story they had chosen. Frisk was half asleep before he even started reading, curled up on her side and not even looking at the pictures, but Papyrus managed to stay up for the majority of it, before his eye-sockets drooped and he too fell asleep.  


Setting the book above his head, Sans lie awake for a few moments, just content to bask in the warm closeness of his two favorite people, but it wasn’t long before the gentle sound of their breathing lulled him into what could possibly be the best sleep of his life.  



	5. When You Play the game of Confessions

Frisk woke up to find Sans curled up around her, his breath warm in her hair and his fingers entwined with hers upon her stomach. She kept her eyes closed, not wanting to let on that she was awake, when he murmured and shifted, pulling her closer to him. She exhaled softly, perfectly content in his arms. She could get used to waking up like this.   


“God, they’re so cute.” She heard Alphys whisper. When had she gotten here? Now she really couldn’t let on that she was awake, Alphys would never let her hear the end of it. “Let them sleep, Papyrus, at least till Undyne gets here.”   


“THEY SLEEP ALL THE TIME.”   


Sans murmured at the sound of his brother’s voice, burying his head into her neck. She wasn’t sure how he breathed through all her hair, but then again, she wasn’t exactly sure how he breathed at all.   


Alphys shushed him. “Do you need any help with breakfast?” Pap had probably invited them over. Some warning would have been nice, but it was Papyrus.   


They padded into the kitchen, Alphys telling Papyrus something about Undyne having an early morning session with a client (she was a physical trainer, and a pretty good one when she wasn’t pushing people too hard).   


Frisk relaxed, allowing herself a couple more moments of contentment before she’d get up. Maybe she could save a little face with her friends before Sans awoke.   


She heard Sans murmur something that sounded a lot like her name, before suddenly pulling away from her. “ _Frisk_. Uh, heya.. kiddo..” He sat up quickly. So much for that.   


“Morning.” She murmured, terrified that the blush rising in her cheeks would give away the fact that she had been awake. She rolled over and opened her eyes to see a light glow of blue had crept into Sans’ pale cheekbones. He was so cute when he was embarrassed.   


Now that wasn’t helping.   


“Sorry if I ah – heh, Pap must have pushed us together or something..”   


Frisk sat up, nervously running a hand through her hair. “Heh, yeah, he’s a bit of a bed hog...” That had to be what happened, right? Besides, they snuggled all the time, it was perfectly fine. No need to get embarrassed, it wasn’t like he was murmuring her name in his sleep or anything-   


“DON’T BLAME YOUR CUDDLES ON ME.” Frisk turned around to see Papyrus and Alphys watching them from the kitchen. Frisk felt all the heat in her body blaze from her cheeks. Alphys already knew about her crush, but if Papyrus had any inkling that they should be together, then it was only a matter of time before he tried to do something about it. “YOU TWO CAN’T STAY AWAY FROM EACH OTHER. IT’S KINDA GROSS.” Alphys elbowed him, hissing something Frisk couldn’t hear.   


“Heh, _really_ funny, bro...”   


She looked back at Sans’ blushing cheeks. She had always assumed that he didn’t feel the same way about her, but with the way he and Papyrus had been acting lately, well… it made a lot of sense.   


Only, why did this have to be happening now? Why couldn’t it have happened before she left for college, or when she came home on weekends, or any other time except **_now_**? Now that she was pregnant and hopeless and really didn’t need to be entertaining romantic notions about anybody, let alone Sans. He really, really didn’t need her issues in his life. No matter how good he was at handling things, this was something she had to do on her own.   


“Frisk?” Sans put his hand on her knee. “Are you feeling okay?” Why did he have to be so damn sweet?   


“I.. I’m fine.” She really could not handle this right now.   


“You don’t look so good. Maybe a hot shower will help?”   


That didn’t sound like such a bad idea. Some time to think, for Alphys to get over giggling about what she had walked in on. Maybe she was overreacting. “Yeah. That sounds nice.”   


* * *

Frisk lay her head against the wall of the shower, listening to the boys crash around the kitchen. She heard the familiar noise of Sans’ blasters going off, smiling a little at how childish the two of them were with their magic sometimes, blowing everything up into a full on battle.   


She took a deep breath, wishing she could let off steam the way they did, casting spells until they were too exhausted to remember what had upset them. Things would be easier that way.   


She had been acting so stupid lately; she had more to worry about than herself right now, and the way she had been acting around Sans was nothing short of grossly immature. She was usually so much more intelligent than this, but her mental state had just been a roller coaster lately, and between the way he always was and the current mess of anxiety and emotions she was lately, she just couldn’t hold back around him.   


She was having a kid, she needed to take responsibility, focus. Chasing stupid crushes has gotten her into this mess, after all.   


And if Sans did have feelings for her, which she would have given anything for a few months ago, she couldn’t make this his problem. It wasn’t his kid, after all.   


Turning off the shower, she grabbed the towel of the rack, taking her time to get dressed. The crashing from the kitchen continued, and Frisk thought she heard the crackling, pinging sound of Alphys’ electricity magic joining the fray.   


She looked about the small bathroom for a hairbrush, before realizing how likely it was to find one in a house inhabited by skeletons. She finger-combed her long locks to the best of her ability, trying to find the confidence to face her friends. She was going to have to tell them before this mess got any worse, before they tried to get her and Sans together. This ended before anyone had the chance to get hurt.   


She wished she could say she was filled with determination, but it really seemed to be lacking in that department lately.   


Walking into the kitchen, she couldn’t help but giggle at the predicament her friends had gotten themselves in. Papyrus - who was pinned to the fridge - had Sans suspended in the air by one foot, and Alphys was backed into a corner by three of Sans blasters - their mouths stuffed by the same yellow magic that crackled around Sans’ hands, rendering him unable to direct or summon any more attacks.   


It was actually pretty pleasing to see her favorite sore winner trussed up this way. Two against one was hardly fair, but..   


“I can’t leave you guys alone for five minutes, can I?” She said to them.   


“Hey, it’s been at least fifteen,” Sans defended.   


There was a loud knock on the door following by an even louder Undyne slamming it open. “GOOD MORNING NERDS!” She called, stomping through the house into the kitchen.   


“GOOD MORNING!” Papyrus replied in kind.   


“Sans, I’ve got a bone to pick with you.” Undyne pointed a spear at Sans’ exposed ribcage, his shirt having fallen over his head.   


“Well I’ve got plenty.” Sans replied, his voice muffled. “So go ahead and pick one.”   


“You threatened to kill my girlfriend.” Undyne accused. So that was what the blasters were for.   


“Your girlfriend threatened to write fanfiction about Frisk and me.”   


“

You did?” Frisk looked over at Alphys, who was turning orange around the cheeks.   


“I.. uh.. may have made a joke about it at some point..” She stammered.   


This was really getting out of hand. “Guys, we need to talk.”   


“Actually, that’s why Undyne and I are here.” Alphys replied, struggling to keep her hold over the blasters. Of course, they were harmless to monsters, but it wasn’t like Alphys was going to give up that easily.   


Her friends definitely did things to the extreme.   


“WE’RE HOLDING AN INTERVENTION.”   


Some days it was more endearing than others…  


“Can we at least do this maturely? Drop your weapons, guys.”   


They started arguing over who should let who go first. She should have known better.   


“GUYS.” She shouted, doing her best to channel her mother’s ability to quiet a room. They all turned to look at her. “Let’s play the confession game.” They did this every time they got into messes like this, (which was, not surprisingly, often). She took a deep breath, deciding to go for broke. “I..” Maybe not _completely_ for broke. “Alphys, you go first.”   


“Frisk and Sans is my new OTP, so I reserve the right to write fanfiction about them until it becomes canon. Sans, your turn.”   


“I uh… I don’t…” His grey shirt lit up with blue light.   


“Play by the rules, nerd.” Undyne threatened, poking him her spear.   


“You can’t write fanfiction about real people.”   


“

A real confession.” She poked him again.   


“You really want to get to the _point_ , don’t you?”   


“SANS. CONFESS YOUR FEELINGS ALREADY.”   


“Fine… I.. I may have feelings for Frisk.” He said quietly. “Your turn, Pap.”   


“WHILE I KNOW THAT SANS ISN’T EXACTLY SECOND BEST TO ME, I STILL THINK THAT HE AND FRISK WOULD BE REALLY GOOD FOR EACH OTHER.”   


Frisk sighed. It was really going to be like this, wasn’t it? “Guys we, um, Sans and me can’t be together.” That was not the best way to put it.   


“WHY NOT? YOU TWO LOOK AT EACH OTHER THE SAME WAY THE PEOPLE IN ALPHY’S MOVIES DO.” Precious, innocent Papyrus.   


“Those are movies, Pap, it’s different in real life.” Could she lie? It would be so much easier if she lied. “I.. I just like him as a friend.” She said quickly, hoping they’d believe her.   


“Can we not do this right now, guys?” Sans asked, sounding defeated. So much for not hurting anyone.   


“Frisk, we both know you’re lying.” Dammit, Alphys. Could she tell that this was not the time? Her friends were so oblivious sometimes, she just wanted to scream.   


“It’s.. it’s complicated, guys. I really don’t want to talk about this right now.” Frisk said through gritted teeth, knowing full well that she wasn’t getting out of this situation without explaining things fully.   


This was really not how she wanted to tell her friends that she was pregnant. This was especially not how she wanted to hear Sans confess his feelings for her. But of course, she had fucked everything up. Maybe if she had been more confident, maybe if she had told them all at dinner the other night, maybe if she learned how to fucking say no…  


“I call confession withholding!” Undyne exclaimed, even though she hadn’t even confessed anything herself.   


“Fuck it. Fine. I’ll tell you guys.” She looked around the room. Sans swinging back and forth from being pushed by Undyne, Alphys starting to sweat as her magic wore down, Papyrus still pinned to the fridge. “Yes, I do like Sans. I like him an awful lot, like an insanely stupid amount, like you can all probably tell. Like Alphys _knows_ , thanks a lot.” She wasn’t sure if she was angrier at herself or her friends, or just the whole stupid situation. “But I’m a bit of a idiot and decided to get pregnant rather than learn anything this semester, so-“ If she was doing this, they could all at least let go of each other, before someone got hurt. “Will you all just drop your damn weapons so we can talk like normal people?”   


The next few moments were a blur of motion. She wasn’t sure who let go of who first, or who yelled, or exactly when Alphys’ hold over Sans and his blasters had worn out, or even why Papyrus didn’t let go of Sans more carefully, but as Sans threw out his arm to catch himself as he tumbled to the ground, his blasters followed his unintentional command, and Frisk found herself suddenly facing down three mercilessly bright beams of magic.   


* * *

**_“FRISK!”_ **   


…  


_“I DIDN’T MEAN TO DROP YOU, SANS, I-“ _  
__

…  


_“It’s just a little crack… I’ll heal. Is Frisk okay?”_  


…  


_“You and those fucking blasters, Sans.”_  


…  


_“Frisk, can you hear me?”_  


…  


_“Sans, you can’t fall asleep with a concussion.”_  


…  


_“We’re going to take you to the hospital, Frisk, okay?”_   


…  


_“There’s not a mark on her, Sans, that’s impossible.”_  


…  


_“Heya, Frisk? I guess you’re probably still asleep, but..”_  



	6. All is Soon Forgiven

Sans wasn’t sure where or when he got his Gaster Blasters, why he knew that they were called that, or even why their magic only worked on humans, but he knew that they were good for two things; one, firing bright lights at his friends when they sparred, and two, rending human souls from their bodies in what he could only assume to be an extremely painful way.   


Suffice to say, he was _extremely_ surprised to see that Frisk had survived. Relieved, grateful, forever in eternal prayer to the powers that be that she hadn’t been hurt in the slightest, but also, yes, surprised. Pleasantly, increasingly, eternally surprised. He had expected a puddle of blood or ash with a glowing, close to shattering soul when he opened his eyes. Instead, he found Frisk, his beautiful, determined Frisk, completely unharmed. Unconscious, to the point of collapsing the moment the beams stopped, but without a mark of any kind upon her.   


That meant one of three things. One, that Frisk had become a monster. That, Sans decided, was highly unlikely, considering the fact that he had just watched the doctors check her soul, and it was red and determined as always. Two, that she had finally learned how to make save points, but Sans would have felt it if she had changed something – and as far as he knew, despite her high determination, she had never learned how. The third, well, he didn’t have time to think about that as the King and Queen made their way across the waiting room towards him.   


In fact, he could only think of one thing. When the King had hired him a sentry, specifically the one who was supposed to man the last corridor and murder humans on sight to make sure that the king never had to carry out his own decrees, one thing had made him stand out. The blasters.   


And Sans really, really hoped that the King had never told the Queen about them.   


_“What. Did. You. Do. To. My. Child.”_   


Sans couldn’t even describe the expression on the Queen’s face. He also couldn’t bring himself to speak, let alone beg for mercy.  


He didn’t even deserve mercy, Frisk was lucky to be alive.   


“Sans. I am going to ask you one more time. What did you do to my child?”   


Of course this happened while everyone else was in with room with Frisk. Of course he felt too terrible to go in and see her. Of course this was when the king and queen arrived, and of course this was all his fault. He had more sins than back and her gaze kept adding more.   


“Tori, dear, I’m sure it was an accident.” The King gave him far more mercy than he deserved, putting his paw on the Queen’s shoulder. Sans was surprised it didn’t burst into flame.   


“I’m sure it was. I’m sure you were roughhousing, weren’t you?”   


He managed a small nod. His bones of his hands were shaking out of place, orange sparks rippling down his fingers. He had heard a rumor once that the Queen’s real magical power was the ability to make someone feel oppressively guilty, and since Sans hadn’t previously believed that he could feel any worse about what he had done, he was really starting to believe it.   


“And I’m very certain that I told you yesterday that she can’t roughhouse the way that you can. And I’m undeniably certain that your magic got out of your control, and therefore, the reason why I was called out of an extremely important diplomatic meeting, to find out that the monster that I entrusted the safety of my daughter to cannot even be bothered to aim his attacks, let alone avoid using the most dangerous power he has around a defenseless human.”   


He knew two things. One, that he would be lucky to survive what the queen was going to do to him, and two, that Papyrus had been the one to tell the queen what had happened, and she was going out of her way to make him feel terrible – which he fully deserved.   


Of course, if Sans survived the Queen, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do with himself.   


“Tori..” The king started, but the Queens gaze silenced him as well as it had Sans.   


Sans decided to do the only think he knew how to do. “Uh, knock knock?”   


“This is not the time for jokes.” She looked at him, softening a little. “Who is there?”   


“Allison.” This was probably the worst joke in his arsenal.   


“Allison who?”   


“Allison forgiven?”   


The queen sighed, her sharp demeanor melting away. Mostly. “Is she okay?”   


That, he believed he could answer. “She’s perfectly fine. They’re just running a few tests for the baby-“ He shut his mouth so quickly he was afraid he teeth would crack.   


_“Baby?”_   


Frisk was never going to forgive him for this.   


* * *

It wasn’t until later that night until all the emotions of the day hit him. He was all cuddled up with Pap, ready to read him a bedtime story, when suddenly he was blubbering into his brother’s shoulder blades. Frisk was fine, dammit, her and the baby both, but here he was anyway, liquid magic dripping from his eye sockets in blue and orange flashes like he was some sort of deranged disco ball.   


Sans really hated crying. Especially in front of Papyrus. He was supposed to be the one looking after him, after all. The way he was supposed to look after Frisk, but apparently he was just going to fail on both accounts.   


At least he could shoot his damned blasters at Papyrus without him ending up in the emergency room.   


Papyrus head butted him gently, nuzzling the top of his skull against Sans’ jaw. Pap wasn’t often quiet, but when he was it was sometimes the most comforting thing in the world. He had really been a terrible brother all day, getting grumpy at Papyrus for little things and choosing to go to Grillby’s rather than eat dinner with him. And still his sweet, precious little brother had taken it all in stride and forgiven him.   


Of course, he wasn’t really sure who the older brother was, as they had been the exact same for as far back as he could remember, but he had always felt a protective pull towards Papyrus. He was innocent and sweet, and Sans knew he had to be strong for him.   


But tonight, Pap seemed to be the strong one. And he was just going to have to deal with it. 

He really wasn’t sure what he was crying about, to be honest. The queen had torn into him pretty deep, and he was pretty sure he was never going to get over the fear that he had murdered Frisk, but his emotional turmoil aside, he really didn’t feel like he had the right to cry. And that only made it worse.   


“SANS.”   


“Yeah, bro?” He sniffled.   


“I KNOW YOU ARE VERY UPSET, BUT I FEEL THE NEED TO EXPLAIN SOME FEELINGS.”   


“Go for it, Pap.”   


“WELL, I FEEL LIKE YOU ARE TAKING ALL THE BLAME FOR FRISK ALMOST GETTING HURT. AND I KNOW THAT YOU WOULDN’T HAVE ACCIDENTALLY AIMED AT HER IF I HADN’T DROPPED YOU.”   


Had Papyrus been thinking about this all day while he had been feeling sorry for himself? He was really the worst brother ever. “Paps.” He looked up at his brother, glowing his eye blue to match his brother’s orange ones. It helped a little, it always did. “You light up my life, bro.”   


Papyrus was quiet. This time it wasn’t comforting,   


“Paps, this was not your fault.”   


“BUT YOU WERE JUST TRYING TO KEEP FROM GETTING HURT, AND THAT WAS MY FAULT.”   


“Accidents happen, bro. I should have known to dissipate my blasters when she entered the room.” He used to, when she was little, but he had gotten overly confident in his abilities. “Besides, I was the one that started the fight, not you.”   


“ALPHYS AND ME WERE TEASING YOU.”   


“So? I tease you two all the time.”   


“SANS.”   


“Yeah, bro?”   


“I’M SORRY.”   


“You haven’t done anything wrong, okay?”   


“I JUST FEEL BAD, BECAUSE YOU ARE BEING SO HARSH ON YOURSELF.”   


“I’m always hard on myself Pap, you know me. I’ll be okay.” He was better than he used to be, but something like this, he was beyond rattled.   


“I WANT YOU TO FORGIVE YOURSELF FOR THIS.”   


“I-I’ll try.”   


“PLEASE? FOR YOUR ONLY BROTHER?”   


Papyrus really knew how to get him. “Okay, fine. I forgive myself.”   


“I’M NOT CONVICED.”   


“I can’t really do much better than that.”   


“BUT IF YOU DON’T FORGIVE YOURSELF, THEN YOU AND FRISK WILL NEVER END UP TOGTHER, AND I JUST WANT YOU TWO TO BE HAPPY.”   


“Come on bro, just give it a rest.”   


“YOU COULDN’T HURT HER FOR A REASON, YOU KNOW.”   


He had a point. His magic came from his soul, and his soul, well.. “Paps..” He hadn’t really thought about it. He knew what it meant, of course, but he knew he didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve her.   


“SHE DID SAY SHE LIKES YOU TOO. I DON’T SEE WHY YOU CAN’T MAKE IT WORK.”   


Sans hadn’t even thought about the conversation prior to this mess. He wasn’t even allowing himself the luxury of believing that Frisk was ever going to talk to him again, after all. “I don’t know if she’s going to forgive me that easily.”   


It was almost impossible to believe that he had woken up with Frisk in his arms. He should have held her tight and never let go. He should have done a lot of things, really.   


Because the universe refused to let him be right about anything ever, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. And he so wanted to answer it. But Papyrus had priority right now, and that was final.   


“BUT YOU DO LIKE HER, RIGHT?” Papyrus really didn’t have an off switch when it came to making sure the people he cared about were happy. He thought that Sans and Frisk needed to be together, and that was that.   


“Yeah. I mean, how can I not? But she’s got a lot going on in her life right now. She’s having a kid, Papyrus.” Explaining that to him earlier had been fun.   


“WHY CAN’T YOU HELP WITH THAT?”   


Other than the fact that he was grossly irresponsible, and that he had almost murdered her less than twelve hours ago, and that he was a lazy useless skeleton? “Well, Pap, I don’t think she wants me to.”   


“IF SHE WANTED YOU TO, WOULD YOU?” He really didn’t see that happening. He wasn;t exactly the greatest with kids, after all.   


“Why don’t we just read the story, bro?”   


“YOU’RE PRETTY GOOD AT READING STORIES. YOU COULD TOTALLY HELP HER WITH THE BABY.”   


“I could, but that would require getting up in the middle of the night, and we both know I’m too lazy to do that.”   


“SANS.”   


“Yeah?”   


“WE BOTH KNOW YOU’D DO ANYTHING FOR FRISK.”   


He was really sunk. Not even lying about his laziness was getting him out of this one.   


His phone buzzed again.   


“YOU SHOULD PROBABLY CHECK THAT.”   


He sighed, pulling his phone from his pocket. _Frisk_. Of course.   


**Princess Frisk,** : So I’m really craving a chocolate milkshake.   


**Princess Frisk** : And I’m not exactly grounded, but I’m totally grounded.   


She really was something else. “She’s grounded, to say the least.” He said to Papyrus.   


“SEE, SHE’S STILL TALKING TO YOU.”   


He felt his phone buzz again, and looked down.   


**Princess Frisk** : Also, that was a bad way to say hello after what happened today. So hey.   


She had less tact than Papyrus sometimes, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. He also really wasn’t sure how to respond to her. He was almost afraid to.   


“Pap, I really don’t think Frisk and me are going to happen.”   


“I HAD WORRIED AS MUCH. BUT IF TELEVISION HAS TAUGHT ME ANYTHING, IT’S THAT TRUE LOVE CONQUERS ALL.” Well, that many movies couldn’t be wrong, now could they?   


**Princess Frisk** : And if you think you’re going to pull some staying away from me for my own good BS, you’ve got another thing coming.   


She knew him too well. Of course, he had proven himself incapable of hurting her, so unless he messed up in a non-magical way, she’d be fine. But he was still scared. She was so fragile, after all. And if he had hurt her..   


But she seemed to have forgiven him. And he needed her in his life. Even if he didn’t want to admit it.   


**Me** : i at least owe you a milkshake. grillbz tomorrow?   


“Can we call it a night, Pap?” He asked. “It’s been a ridiculously long day.”   


“HAVE YOU EFFECTIVELY FORGIVEN YOURSELF YET?”   


**Princess Frisk** : It’ll probably have to be after I go to dinner with the parents.   


**Princess Frisk** : And probably beg for mercy.   


He had certainly been there.   


**Me** : save room for dessert then  


“I’m working on it.”   


“HMM. ALRIGHT, BUT IF YOU DON’T FORGIVE YOURSELF SOON, I WILL HAVE TO TRAIN YOU LIKE I DID ALPHYS.”   


Running one hundred laps while yelling about how awesome he was wasn’t happening. Running even one lap while contemplating that he wasn’t the absolute worst wasn’t happening. “It’s a process, okay bro? But uh, thanks. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” He decided to stop before he started getting emotional again. “Anyway, what are we reading tonight?”   


Papyrus handed him his battered copy of the dating handbook. “No way, Pap. This is not a bedtime story.” He caught a glimpse of his phone screen as he got up to put the book back on the shelf.   


**Princess Frisk** : It’s a date.   


Who did this girl think she was, anyway?   


He grabbed _Peek a Boo with Fluffy Bunny_ before snuggling back up with his brother. Within moments, the stress of the day had worn down on both of them, and Sans felt his head droop onto Pap’s shoulder. One more page, he told himself, before he promptly fell asleep.   



	7. Scientists Are Good for Something

Frisk woke up to extremely bright sunlight streaming in through her windows, and her phone screeching the theme to _Mew Mew Kissy Cutie_ in her ear.   


“Alphys, it is too early.” She grumbled into the receiver.   


“You’re worse than Sans, it’s one in the afternoon.”   


That explained the bright sunlight. “Mm tired.”   


“Aren’t I still mad at you?” It wasn’t all Sans’ fault she had ended up in the ER yesterday, after all, not to mention the embarrassing mess of an ‘intervention’ that she just knew was the geeky scientist’s idea.   


“I’m making cinnamon bunnies, with extra frosting.” More like apology bunnies, Alphys only made them when she had upset someone.   


“I’m pretty sure I’m grounded, so you’ll have to deliver them. If my mom doesn’t murder you before you can get through the front door.” Her mother had been livid at all of them yesterday, but since Frisk had been delirious, she hadn’t gotten all of hers yet. Dinner with them tonight was going to be great.   


“I need you to come over here because all my lab equipment is here.”   


“I’m not in the mood to test my determination levels. I honestly don’t care why I didn’t die yesterday.” Having a scientist for a best friend was the worst sometimes.   


“I already know why you survived, that’s not it. This is more about the baby.”   


“I’m listening.” She was really not liking the idea of everyone just knowing suddenly, but it was easier than trying to find the courage to tell them. And to be honest, she was a little curious as to why she wasn’t dead, since everyone seemed to know but her.   


“I’ll explain when you get here.”   


Dammit, Alphys. “Fine. There better be chocolate milk to go with those bunnies.”   


“You’ve got it.” Click.   


Frisk got dressed and creeped into the kitchen, where her mother was drinking tea. “Good morning.” She said sheepishly.   


“Good morning dear, how are you feeling? Would you like something to eat?” Her mother asked. Frisk hoped that her sweetness meant that she was mostly over her anger from yesterday.   


“Actually, um, well, Alphys was making cinnamon bunnies and..”   


She really hated that look. “Who else is going to be there?” For someone who had been so adamant about Frisk learning to be an independent adult, her mother sure changed her mind really fast.   


“Just Alphys and Undyne.” She said, her confidence wavering. “Sans works on Thursdays at the grocery store and I think that’s when Pap films videos for his channel.” Or was Thursdays when he worked at the coffee shop? Either way, he worked on Thursdays.   


“Alright, but we’re leaving for dinner at five thirty.”   


“I’ll be home by four.” She grabbed her coat and keys and kissed her mother on the cheek. She meant well, after all. “I love you.”   


“I love you too. Drive safe.”   


* * *

Alphys and Undyne’s house smelled like warm cinnamon even from the outside, and Frisk knocked once before letting herself in. Scooping up their cat, Kyube, she found Undyne and Alphys in the kitchen, and grabbed herself a still warm cinnamon bunny before plopping onto one of the stools next to the counter. The massive grey and white beast purred as she scratched behind its ears.   


“I believe I was promised chocolate milk.”   


“You sure know how to greet your friends.” Alphys teased.   


“After the stunt you all pulled yesterday, you’re lucky I’m speaking to you.”   


Undyne thunked an entire gallon of chocolate milk down next to her. “All yours, dweeb. Now spill about this kid.”   


Frisk grabbed a glass from the cabinet above her and poured herself some milk. “This better not be why I’m here.”   


“It’s not. But we’re your friends, so we’re curious.” Alphys assured her, looking up from adding more cinnamon to her second batch of dough.   


Frisk knew that Undyne and Alphys understood human reproduction. They watched plenty of anime, after all, and Alphys was a scientist. “It.. it was a one night stand.” The less she had to explain, the better.   


Undyne choked on her bite of bunny. “You’re kidding me. You?”   


She gave her friend a look.   


“Come on Frisk, you cover your eyes at kissing scenes. There’s no way-”  


“Undyne.” Alphys hissed. She was like the conscience of her friends. The hentai watching type of conscience. Her friends were weird.   


“Anyway, the dad isn’t important.” Frisk said adamantly. “Hey, you still need to explain to me why I’m not dead.”   


She heard Undyne snort behind her, and Alphys’ grin was concerning.   


“We were going to let Sans explain that one.”   


“Nope, you two are telling me. _Right now_.” She turned around to look at Undyne. “You still owe me a confession, and it’s either this or something really bad.” Revenge was a dish best served with a side of cinnamon bunnies.   


“Fine.” She grumbled. “It’ll be better if I show you.” She summoned three spears and Frisk did not like where this was going. “Alphys, hold still.” Kyube leapt from her lap and scampered from the room. Smart cat.   


“U-Undyne, you could just-“ She didn’t even flinch as they passed through her, and Frisk knew those things hurt. “You know I hate it when you do that.”   


“I think I’m missing the point.” She took a sip of milk. All she had been craving lately was dairy.   


“Did you just make a pun?” Undyne gave her a look.   


She had been spending way too much time with Sans. “Did you just turn Alphys into a shish kabob?”   


“She didn’t. She didn’t even hurt me.” Alphys replied. “Basically, um, when you find your soulmate, your magic loses the ability to hurt them. Magic comes from the soul, after all. I can explain more but-“  


“I think I get it..” She replied, her face a blazing beacon and her heart thudding in her chest. She knew that monsters believed in soulmates, but that they actually existed and that she was -  


She suddenly realized that her parents knew about the soulmate thing, too. Was that why her mother had been so mad? Other than the fact that he had put her in the hospital, of course, but-  


“That means we were right about you two. I think you owe us an apology.” Undyne cackled.   


“You’ll have to force it from my cold, dead lips. You were both awful yesterday.”   


“We are sorry. But, I think if this hypothesis I have is correct, you’ll be thanking us soon enough.”   


“Why do I find that hard to believe?”   


* * *

“So what do you know about the formation of souls?” Alphys asked as Frisk followed her downstairs to the lab.   


“Monsters have magic and humans have determination.”   


“Sort-of. We all have both, technically. Humans have far more determination, and monsters are practically all magic.”   


“Right. And neither can really handle large amounts of the other.”   


“Not exactly. Monsters can’t-“ She paused. “Humans can handle large amounts of magic, because determination is a stronger force.” She flipped on the light switch. “Magic can erode away at determination with enough exposure, but that’s not really the point.”   


Frisk sat at Alphys work bench. There was a set of blueprints covered in strange symbols, and a sketch of something that reminded her an awful lot of Sans’ blasters – she was rather acquainted with them, after all. “What’s this?”   


“Something I dug up from the previous scientist’s files. I can’t read a word of it, of course, but I found it while I was looking for a study on unborn souls.”   


“Who was the previous royal scientist?” It suddenly occurred to her that she didn’t know.   


“No idea. Most of my information on him is redacted or in code-“ She paused, pressing her hand to her head, like she was in pain. “Anyway.” She rolled up the blueprint and stuffed it in one of the boxes beside her worktable. “It’s not really important.”   


“You okay, Alphys?”   


“I’m alright.” She grabbed a bottle of water from her mini-fridge and downed half of it with a couple of painkillers from the bottle on her table. “Occupational hazard, most royal scientists end messily. Whatever happened to that one was a doozy.”   


“Just be careful, all right?”   


“I always am. I don’t get a lot of dangerous projects now that we’re topside, after all.”   


She had a point. “Anyway, newborn souls?”   


“Right. Your doctor said that both you and the baby’s soul were fine, right?”   


“Yeah?”   


“How far along are you?”   


“About seven weeks.” She had gained a solid ten pounds to go with it.   


“That’s about what I figured. It shouldn’t have a complete soul yet.”   


She gave her friend a confused look.   


“Let me explain. Magic is what causes souls to form. So monster babies form souls upon conception, where humans ones form a little slower, while they’re still in the womb.”   


“So absorbing that much magic made my kid’s soul form instantly?” That did not sound like a good thing. That really did not sound like a good thing.   


“Exactly. Only, I don’t think it’s still human.”   


“W-what makes you think that?” Frisk would be lying is she said she wasn’t concerned.   


“Well, for one, the fact that they couldn’t get an ultrasound yesterday. You shouldn’t have had that much magical residue in your system, unless it was sticking around for a reason.” Human machinery really wasn’t equipped to handle magic anyway, which was annoying for someone who spent a lot of time with monsters. Even eating magical food before going in for a blood test could mess it up.   


“So how do we figure out if it’s human or not?” If it was a monster, wouldn’t that make it-  


“Well, I think I have a better ultrasound machine. One that can look right at unborn souls, rather than just detect the reverberations of them.”   


“Why don’t they use ones like yours at the hospital?”   


She shrugged. “Humans like to think that they do things better than monsters do. Besides, I just found the blueprints to put it together last night. The royal scientist before last did a lot of research with unborn monsters.”   


Frisk began to wonder what other great feats of magic and science was lost in Alphys’ cluttered lab, but she didn’t feel like asking. There were probably a few things the world didn’t need to see, after all.   


A few minutes later, Frisk found herself on an operating table with her stomach covered in glowing green ultrasound goo. “This feels really weird.” It was grossly warm and tingled on her skin.   


Alphys looked down at her, probe in one claw. She had gotten into a lot of awkward situations because of her over the years, but this one probably took the cake. “It isn’t hurting you, is it?”   


Alphys was so lucky that she trusted her. “Is it supposed to?”   


“No.. B-but it is made for monsters, so I was concerned..”   


Frisk was glad her concerns came up after the goo was on her skin. “It’s just really warm.”   


“Sorry..” She pressed the probe to Frisk’s stomach. A rhythmic sound filled the room.   


“Is that my heartbeat, or theirs?” She wondered if the ultrasound could pick up the butterflies in her stomach.   


“The baby’s.” Alphys replied, watching the screen as she moved the probe. “I think that’s it.”   


She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be looking at, but it was blue. “It looks like a ball of magic to me.” It was better than her ultrasound yesterday, which had been a lot of blue and gray static, but it looked like this was a failure as well.   


“Well, that’s what a monster ultrasound would look like at this stage. Let me try-” She pressed a couple buttons, and something gray and heart shaped appeared on the screen, swimming in a blue sea.   


“That’s a monster soul, isn’t it?” Things just got a lot more interesting.   


“Tell Sans I said congratulations.”   


Frisk nearly fell off the table trying to take a swing at her.   


* * *

Frisk flopped onto her bed after getting back from dinner, still a little unsure of what she wanted to do. Her parents had been, well, concerned at the idea of her having a monster child (not that they were entirely thrilled about the idea of a human one), but they were supportive, and that meant a lot. It was very unexpected, but it was their grandchild, and they wanted to help.   


She had also gotten the lecture about not roughhousing, again, which wasn’t entirely fair because she hadn’t even been involved in the fight, but she figured it was her mother’s way of expressing concern over her and her unborn child.   


Now, there was just Sans to talk to. Last night she had made a ‘date’ with him (her sleepy self had so much more confidence), but she was almost afraid to see him, because if she did she’d have to tell him. The kid wasn’t entirely his – he hadn’t been there for the conception, after all – but knowing what she did of how monsters conceived children – love and magic was a tricky thing, after all, she couldn’t exactly say it wasn’t either. It wasn’t his DNA, but it was his magic, and for monsters that was basically the same thing.   


But she was scared, hopelessly in love, and really craving a milkshake, so it looked like she was going to have to do this. Besides, she would have been dead if he wasn’t in love with her (and that was a mixture of wonderful and strange to think about), so maybe this wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened. Maybe.   


Dredging up the remains of her courage, she threw on a pair of jeans over her leggings – the dress could stay, and buttoning up her coat as she walked through the house, prepared to leave. 

“Frisk, where are you going?” Her mother called from the kitchen as she was grabbing her car keys.   


“Um, emergency run to Grillby’s. I need a milkshake, pronto.”   


“Meeting with Sans?”   


She stopped dead in her tracks. “..Yeah. I know I’m still probably grounded but..” She peeked into the kitchen, where her mother was grabbing a slice of pie.   


“You’re not grounded.” She sighed. “You’re an adult, and I’m sorry that I haven’t been treating you like one.” The fridge closed with a soft click. “Even tonight at dinner I – I just want what’s best for you.”   


“I know Momma, and.. trust me. I didn’t intend for this to happen.”   


She walked over and gave her mom a hug, burying her face in her warm fur. “I am sorry that I pushed you so hard to go to college, my child.”   


“I’m sorry that I got pregnant and almost failed history.”   


Her mother gave her a soft squeeze. “Wait, weren’t you majoring in history?”   


“This had been nice, Mom, but Sans is waiting for me and-“ The thought occurred to her that she hadn’t even texted him to meet her yet. She should do that.   


Her mother chuckled. “Do let him know that I am done being angry at him.”   


“He’ll be happy to hear that.” She smiled. “I do have to ask though, um, were you mad because he put me in the hospital, or because, uh-“  


“Because he fell in love with you?” Her mom always knew.   


“Heh. Yeah.” She couldn’t believe she was having this conversation. Magic made everything so weird sometimes.   


“I was unhappy about it, at first, but only because I was scared for your well-being. Another human would be a well, a safer match, after all. But I can’t say I didn’t expect it.”   


“You can’t say I didn’t try the human route.”   


“Don’t push your luck, little one.”   



	8. From One Soul to Another

Despite his shortcut, Frisk had already had beat him there, and was chatting with Grillby up at the counter when he arrived. She was still dressed up from dinner, it seemed, in a light blue dress that clung to her curves, and a matching ribbon in her braided hair.   


He suddenly realized how much he had missed her, despite it only being a couple of days since he had seen her last. He still felt guilty for what had happened, but she forgave him, and that was probably what mattered.   


The only thing left to do was move on from there.   


“What’s a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?” He asked, using her shoulder as an armrest as he looked up at Grillby. “I mean, the bartender is pretty hot, so I can’t blame you.”   


Grillby gave him an unamused look. He did use that joke a lot, after all.   


“Come on Grillbz, you know it’s true.”   


Grillby asked if he’d like anything.   


“I’ll have what she’s having.” He said, taking a seat beside Frisk.   


“Two chocolate milkshakes then, please.” Frisk said, with an anxious smile. Apparently dinner with her parents had not gone well, but he could only expect as much.   


“And some fries.” He added.   


“I’m sorry, but I can’t be seen with someone that dips their fries in ice cream.”   


“I’m sorry, but who invited who here?” He replied, elbowing her.   


“Well I hoped you’d seen the error of your ways by now.”   


“That’s what you get for trying to mess with perfection.”   


Grillby shook his head at their antics, before walking away to attend to another customer.   


“Do you want to grab a booth?” Her anxious look had returned.   


He nodded, turning around to find a place to sit. There was an open spot in the back, and they both headed towards it.   


“So how was dinner?” He asked as they sat down.   


“They’re not angry, they’re disappointed.” She replied. “But Mom said to tell you that she’s done being mad at you.”   


“Are you sure she’s not just lulling me into a false sense of security?”   


“Nah. We had a heart to heart before I headed over here.” That was mostly reassuring.   


Grillby’s daughter, a pretty little green flame, came over with their order. “Working on a school night?” He asked her.   


“Out for winter break.” She replied. “I’m just helping dad out until he finds a new waitress.”   


A commotion behind them drew her attention. The dogs were barking like mad over their poker game. “I had better take care of that.” She sighed, dog treats tumbling out of her apron pocket as she rushed off.   


Frisk took a French fry and dipped it in her milkshake. “Nope, still the worst way to eat fries. Not even pregnant me can stand this.” She declared after taking a bite.   


“Keep your bad opinions to yourself.” He replied, dredging three fries through his own shake.   


“I’ve seen you drink condiments, you’re not allowed to make culinary decisions.”   


“You always have to bring that up every time we’re in here.”   


“It was a traumatizing experience, okay?”   


“If that’s your opinion of traumatizing, I feel really sorry for you.”   


She paused. “I missed you.”   


“It’s been two days.”   


“It felt like a long time.”   


“Come on, you were unconscious for one of them.” He paused. That was not the right thing to say at all. “And I’m sorry.”   


She took a short draw on her straw. “Eh, all my friends get one free pass on trying to murder me, and you used yours. No big deal.”   


He was glad she saw it that way.   


She quickly changed the subject. “So. Confession, I totally played Ocarina of Time without you this afternoon.”   


How dare she? “But it wasn’t your turn.” They had been working on it for almost a year now, switching turns whenever one of them died and arguing over how best to solve the puzzles. Papyrus had even helped them a time or two.   


“I needed something to do after getting back from Alphys’. I found one of the keys to the temple.”   


“Where was it?”   


“Exactly where I said one should be last time we played.”   


“In that case, I guess I can forgive you.” He smiled. “I’ve got a confession of my own.”   


“Papyrus beat you at Mortal Kombat, didn’t he?”   


“How did you know?”   


“He texted me immediately after to brag.” She replied, taking another drink of her shake.   


“Alright, new confession. I let him win.”   


“I’m calling bullshit.”   


“No lie. You know how bad Pap is at video games.”   


“I think he got you, and you’re just too proud to admit it.”   


“Okay. It was a lucky shot.”   


“Mhm.” She lips curled into a smirk around her straw. He was sunk.   


He decided to quit while he was ahead. “So what did you do with Alphys earlier?”   


“She made me cinnamon bunnies.”   


At least Alphys felt remorse for her actions, the bunnies proved it. He looked up to see that Frisk seemed to be concerned about something. One hand rested on her stomach, like he noticed her doing a lot recently. “Tummy ache?”   


“Something like that.”   


  


“You’re not pregnant, are you?”   


“Sans.” She smiled a little. “I’ve got something to tell you, but I don’t know how.”   


“Well, you just open your mouth and speak. It’s really easy.”   


She rolled her eyes. That was always a good sign. “The hard part is deciding on the words.”   


He was suddenly rather worried, but he didn’t want to let it show. “So confession, Papyrus tried to make me read the dating handbook when I told him I was meeting you here.”   


She turned a little pink. “Well, I did call it a date..”   


“Is it about what you said the other day, before - well, is it about us?”   


“No. Well.” She bit her lip. “Alphys told me something interesting.”   


“The soulmate thing?” He had been hoping that she wouldn’t find out. He didn’t want her to feel pressured into anything, even if he desperately wanted to act upon it.   


“Two things then.” That was concerning. “But can we start there?”   


He had to admit though, it was rather comforting to know that it was her. He never really had his doubts, except for in himself, but knowing that at least his soul knew that they were meant to be just felt right. Now if only the reality of the situation wasn’t such a mess. “I know, it’s hard to believe that a soul as amazing as mine wants to pair with yours.”   


“Sans..” She frowned. Maybe that wasn’t the best way to go about things.   


“I’m just messing with you. Um. You don’t have to feel obligated or anything. To be with me, I mean. I know I’m not the greatest, but -“  


“I think you’re the greatest.”   


“Heh..”   


“I mean it.”   


He decided to go for broke. He might not get another chance, after all. “Do you want to try? The dating thing, I mean?” Maybe he should have read the handbook..   


“I do. I really do, but-“  


The baby. He wasn’t exactly parent material, after all. At least it wasn’t actually his, the kid had a chance that way. “I know that I’m not the most responsible, but if you wanted to try to make things work I’m sure I could-“  


She had lain her head on the table.   


“I know.”   


“No - you don’t understand.” She murmured.   


He got up and slid in beside her, putting an arm around her waist. “Knock, knock.”   


She sighed. “Who’s there?”   


“Feelings police. Open up.”   


“The last time that worked I was in junior high.”   


“And you still had that crush on M.K.” That was also a couple years before he ever thought about her as anything more than a friend. When had it happened, anyway?   


She sat up, pulling her knees to her chest. “He was such a dweeb.”   


“Still is, too. Not that your current prospects are any better.”   


“You know I hate it when you do that.”   


“Make fun of MK?” The kid was older than Frisk and still hero worshipped Undyne. Of course, Papyrus did, too, but that was different story altogether.   


“No. Make fun of yourself. You’re a much better person than you give yourself credit for.”   


“Frisk..”   


“I mean it.” It wasn’t the first time she had brought it up, but he had never wanted to believe her.   


“Alright. I’ll try.”   


“Promise?”   


Their milkshakes were melting.   


“So, this other thing. Are you going to tell me?”   


She sighed. “I promised myself I would.” She was pensive for a moment. “You might even like what I’m about to say. Maybe.” She bit her lip again.   


“Alright, Princess, spill it.”   


“So you told me once that each monsters magic feel different, right?”   


He wasn’t quite sure where she was going with this. “Right. It comes from our souls, so even if two people cast the same thing, it would be slightly different.”   


“And you can tell your own magic apart from someone else’s?”   


“Yeah?” If he were to come in contact with anything made of his own magic, his soul would know. Of course, nothing he made ever stuck around, it was always just blasters and bones.   


“Okay. So I have an experiment.. I don’t know if it will work.”   


“No. I know I can’t, but I don’t want to hurt you.”   


“I don’t need you to cast anything. Just, give me your hand.”   


“Alright.” He lay his hand in hers.   


“Okay. Just, do whatever you do to feel magic?” She said, and pressed his hand to her stomach.   


“I don’t-“ The fluttering within his soul silenced him. Something beneath the bones of his fingers, coiled within her, pulsed with a magic that was certainly his. And he had about one guess as to what it was.   


* * *

“SANS! HOW DID YOUR - SANS? YOU DON’T LOOK LIKE YOU FEEL VERY WELL.”   


“I’m fine, bro. I just need to go lie down.”   


Coming home immediately after saying goodnight to Frisk may have been a bad idea, but his room was the best place to freak out.   


“THE GREASE IS FINALLY GETTING TO YOU.” He should have known that Pap would be waiting up for him, but he wasn’t exactly thinking clearly.   


“Sure, bro, I just-“ He really could not handle this right now. He had stayed as calm as he could for Frisk, but he knew he had really messed up. She did not need a monster kid in her life, especially not one that had a chance of being anything like him. He knew she had acted happy about it to make him feel better, but soulmate or not, this was -  


“I, YOUR FANTASTIC BROTHER, WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU.”   


“I’m fine, bro.. I promise. I’m just tired. Long day at work..”   


Papyrus scooped him up. “COME ALONG SANS, I WILL TUCK YOU INTO BED.”   


“Isn’t that my job?” How was he even going to explain this one to Papyrus? Trying to find a way to explain how she got pregnant in the first place had been near impossible, but he was going to freak out about his new niece or nephew and -  


“NOT TONIGHT, AS YOU ARE WORRYINGLY SICK.”   


“I’m not sick, Paps.” Did he really look that bad? “I’m just-“  


Fine. He’d let Papyrus take care of him. He wasn’t about to explain what was really wrong.   


He took his ‘weenie tablets’ like a champ, and even let Papyrus take his temperature (not that he really had one, being made of bones and magic, but Pap did things by the book). However, he was eternally grateful when Papyrus fell asleep beside him, Sans having taken the book away when his overzealous brother got the idea to act out the story. Though, to be honest, Papyrus had helped calm him a little. His brother was good at that.   


But this, well.. There wasn’t much Pap could do fix this. He just needed time to think, and from how awake he felt, he had plenty.   


His kid. He lie awake in the darkness thinking about it. Frisk had explained how it had happened, and how she wasn’t exactly sure if it was his or the other boy’s or even really hers anymore, but the feeling in his soul let him know that he couldn’t say it wasn’t, at least in part, very much his.   


He was scared, to say the least. Frisk having a human kid, he could handle. He had been a little jealous of the idea of her being with anyone else in order to make it, but a human baby, one that was hers and not his - at least biologically, he had almost, almost been ready to for it. He could do it for her - at least at first. But the idea of a kid of his own was terrifying.   


He knew he couldn’t let her do it alone. She had made him promise to think about things, and not to decide anything just because he felt responsible for what happened, but how couldn’t he? She hadn’t asked for this to happen - and while he really hadn’t either, reality didn’t really care.   


Papyrus snored and rolled over. He couldn’t even remember if he had ever been a child or not. Sans had practically raised him, if it could be called that, but caring for another adult - or whatever Papyrus was - was a lot different than an infant. And he had been terribly irresponsible at times.   


There was also, of course, another part of him that loved the idea that Frisk was having his kid. The part of him that couldn’t imagine her with anyone else - his Frisk, and their child. Accidental and wrought with magic that certainly wasn’t meant for that purpose - unless his soul had other plans - it was definitely his own. It was way too sudden, but he couldn’t say unwanted. Despite himself, he couldn’t say he hadn’t imagined having kids with her - if it was even possible to do so by any other way than by freak accident. And she seemed to be happy with the idea. Or at least, not as unhappy as she had been about the previous situation. Their kid. Geez. He couldn’t help but smile at the idea. Crazy as it was.   


Her smile. _Fuck_. The way she had smiled when he had realized what she was trying to tell him. Sweet, and genuine, and … of course he had messed it up with his own panic.   


But maybe, they could make things work. She said she wanted to try, hadn’t she? And it wasn’t like they had anything to lose.   



	9. What Could be Lost

Frisk was awoken by a knock on her door. “You have a visitor, dear.” Her father’s voice called.   


She groaned. Her friends really did not understand the meaning of beauty sleep, and after last night, she was in desperate need of more. “Tell them to come back with coffee.”   


“You don’t even drink coffee.” Was that Sans’ voice? It was way too early for him to be awake. 

“Fine. Come in.”   


“Good morning, Princess.” Sans said, walking in and sitting on the edge of her bed.   


God, she hoped he hadn’t woken her up just to break her heart. Because if he thought he was going to get away with that, he had another thing coming.   


“Morning.” She murmured, too comfortable to remove herself from her blanket cocoon.   


“Is that any way to greet a friend?”   


“Why are you here so early?”   


“I couldn’t sleep.” That was a first.   


“You and me both.” While she knew she had no real right to be upset, his reaction last night had really bothered her.   


He leaned back on his hands. “Hey, I’m sorry if anything I said last night upset you.”   


“’s alright. I was just as shocked as you are.” She yawned.   


“Yeah. It’s a bit of a big deal.”   


“You’re telling me.”   


“I’m sorry.”   


“Don’t be.” She sat up. Getting grumpy with him was getting her nowhere. “I’d rather this kid be yours, anyway.” While she was still terrified at the idea of trying to raise a monster kid, she couldn’t say that she entirely minded it being his.   


“Do you really mean that?”   


She lay her head on his shoulder. “Yes. And I don’t think you’ve had enough sleep for this conversation.” She really hadn’t either. Life choices were not to be made while sleepy.   


“I know. But I just couldn’t leave things the way they were last night.”   


“I’m glad.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled her down with her. “But we’ll talk later, okay? Just take a little nap with me.”   


He acted like he was going to protest, but she knew him too well. “If you insist.” He wrapped one arm around her as she lay her head on his chest. “Are you sure you don’t want a pillow or something? I don’t know how comfortable my ribcage is.”   


It was true that he wasn’t very squishy, but she wasn’t uncomfortable. In fact, she definitely preferred him to any pillow. “You’re perfect, Sans.”   


“I wouldn’t go that far.” He replied, nuzzling the top of her head.   


If she said she didn’t want to kiss him right now, she’d be lying. But now was not the time. “Are you comfy?”   


“Mhm.” He replied sleepily. It seemed her plan had worked.   


She allowed herself to close her eyes, comfortable in his embrace. There were a few things that needed sorted out, but they had plenty of time. For now, she just wanted to curl up and sleep, and cuddles were an added bonus.  


* * *

“Frisk, you need to wake up, your appointment is in an hour.” Her mother’s voice awoke her.   


Frisk groaned and buried her face into her pillow - or rather, Sans’s chest. She could really get used to waking up next to him.   


Wait, her appointment was at three. Had they been sleeping all day?   


She raised her head to call back to her mother. “I’m getting up.”   


“Will Sans be joining us?”   


The thought suddenly occurred to her that her mother knew that they had been sleeping together all day. She really didn’t want to have to explain that later.   


“I’ll ask him.” She poked her snoring cuddle-buddy. “Hey Sans.”   


“Mmm?”   


“Wake up.” She nudged his head with hers.   


“Because we’ve been asleep all morning.”   


He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back down to him. “I don’t mind.”   


She hid her face in his neck to hide her blush. “Come on Sans, I have a doctor’s appointment.”   


He let go of her to yawn and stretch. “I guess I’ll get up then.”   


“Um, do you want to go with? The appointment is more for the baby than for me..”   


She wasn’t quite sure if he’d want to go or not, but it didn’t seem like a bad idea.   


“Do you want me to go?”   


Maybe they should have talked about things earlier. “I, I wouldn’t mind. I mean. Will you go to the appointment with me? I’d feel better if you were there.”   


Sans smiled a lot, but when he really, genuinely smiled, it made her melt inside.   


* * *

Frisk really hated waiting rooms. She had never been the most patient person, and rooms dedicated purely to waiting on something just seemed unnatural.   


Sans, of course, seemed to be born to wait, and was snoozing with his head on her shoulder while her mother chattered on about how amazing Dr. Otter had been when she was pregnant. For a brief moment, Frisk almost forgot that her mother had not actually birthed her, but the moment faded as Frisk remembered her lost older sibling.   


She suddenly realized that her mother had stopped talking. She looked up to see tears were forming in the corner of her eyes.   


She grabbed her mother’s hand. “It’s okay, Momma.”   


“You really would have liked your brother.” She sniffled.   


“I know. But you still have me. You always have me.” Her first and only memory of her brother - or at least, her only memory of him not being a genocidal flower - involved him trying to end the entire world, but she tried not to think about that.   


“Thank you, my child.” Her mother rested her head on top of Frisk’s, making her feel loved in the way that only a mother could.   


For the first few years after the barrier fell, Frisk had been determined to return Asriel to their mother, and she and Alphys would go down at least once a month to try to convince the flower to join them on the surface, but to no avail. He just wouldn’t leave the underground. She wasn’t sure why.   


“Frisk?” A nurse called, and the three of them got up to follow her.   


Frisk also couldn’t help but remember when he went missing. He was usually very easy to find, preferring their mother’s house in the ruins to anywhere else. Only he was nowhere in the entire underground. They never found him again, after that.   


“Frisk, are you alright?” Sans asked, surprising her by taking her hand.   


“I’m okay. Just a lot on my mind.”   


Her mother placed a hand on her back. “I did not upset you, my child, did I?”   


“No, not at all.” She lied.   


“This room right here.” The nurse said, ushering them into a small room. “If you’ll just hop up on the examining table dear, I’ll need to check your magic levels and soul reverberations before the doctor can see you.”   


“You’ll probably want her blood pressure instead, dear. My daughter is human.”   


“Oh? Oh. Your majesty, I almost didn’t recognize you, I’m sorry.” The nurse’s blue cheeks grew green with embarrassment.   


“You’re quite all right, I am dressed very plainly today.” Her mother usually dressed more, well, regally in public. She was the queen, after all, but today she had opted for comfort, rather than style.   


“You look lovely, as always.” The nurse complimented.   


It was her mother’s turn to blush, turning red as though she had blood on her veins. “Well thank you.”   


“I do have to mention though, Dr. Otter usually only treats monster patients. Not to be discrimatory, of course, but monster pregnancies have very different needs than human ones..”   


“I appreciate the concern, but the doctor is very aware of our situation.”   


Frisk stole a glance over at Sans, who was sitting guiltily in his chair. She stuck her tongue out at him, and he responded with his own and a smile. She was happy that he had come with.   


After the nurse acquired the necessary vital signs from her, and the doctor had came in, made the proper introductions, and seemed to be finished catching up with her mother - while Frisk did always love how casual monsters were about professionalism, the examination table wasn’t the most comfortable to sit on - the fuzzy monster turned his attentions to her.   


“How are you feeling today, Frisk?”   


She held back a yawn. “I’m good.”   


“Have you been sleeping well?”   


“Practically all the time.” Sans teased.   


“Like you have any room to talk.” Frisk replied, sticking her tongue back out at him.   


The doctor chuckled. “Alright, so your mother didn’t have a chance to explain the whole situation over the phone. Would you care to explain in detail?”   


“Uh. Well..” Frisk stuttered, trying to find the right words for the situation. “It started out as human..”   


“It was my fault, really.” Sans said quietly. “My magic is really, really strong.”   


“Are you a boss monster?” The doctor asked curiously.   


It suddenly struck Frisk that she didn’t know whether he was or not. She knew Papyrus was, but there was only one per generation. Of course, the two of them weren’t like most other monsters.   


“Uh, yeah.” Sans admitted. That meant that all of her friends and family were boss monsters. How she had survived for so many years around them, she’d never know.   


Frisk couldn’t help but notice that Sans grew rather quiet and concerned as she explained to the doctor what had happened. While she expected him to help her explain, it was obvious that he had other things on his mind. She couldn’t help but be worried.   


“I’ve certainly never heard of anything like this happening before.” The doctor said once she had finished explaining. “I do have to ask though, are you sure this is something that you want to go through with?”   


“What do you mean?”   


“Well, this is definitely a very dangerous pregnancy, and currently you’re very close to the point at which it can be safely aborted.”   


“What do you mean by dangerous?” Sans asked, snapping out of his stupor.   


“I can only begin to imagine the potential complications of this pregnancy, and I just want to make sure that she is prepared to deal with them. I can’t say that I recommend aborting it, but given the circumstances, I do have to ask.”   


Frisk protectively wrapped her arms around her stomach. She knew that the doctor was just looking out for her well-being, and that her well-being was more important than the baby’s in everyone else’s eyes, but she had listened to the reverberations of it’s tiny soul and she wasn’t about to give up. “I can do this. I want to do this.”   


“Frisk.. hey, let’s think about this for a moment.” Sans said cautiously, and she shot him a glare. She had thought he was on her side. It was why he was here, wasn’t it?   


“You don’t think having this child could hurt her, do you?” Her mother asked.   


“It is very possible. The human body is not designed to handle a monster pregnancy.”   


“I’ll do whatever it takes. I’m keeping my child.” She could feel the determination in her veins.   


“If you are certain then.” The doctor said softly. 

“I am. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my entire life.” This is what she wanted. She had been so unsure and scared at first, but she couldn’t give up just because it was scary. She needed it as much as it needed her.   


Sans looked like he wanted to say something, but changed his mind. If he was thinking of ways to talk her out of this…  


“You will have to be very careful. Your determination and it’s magic are not going to get along.”   


“Will it have enough magic to sustain itself? Or is there another way to-“ She wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence. She certainly didn’t have any magic of her own to give to it.   


“Well, it’s very common for the other partner to share their own magic with their child, but in a situation like this, I’m not sure..” The doctor said delicately, unsure of how to address the situation. Sans seemed at loss for words, trying and failing to say something. She wasn’t sure why, but suddenly he seemed like he wasn’t very happy with the situation, and that hurt more than anything. “I’m sure there are other ways, especially in this sort of situation. I’ll have to do some research and get back to you.”   


“Right.” Frisk said softly. “Um, when am I due? I know that monster pregnancies tend to be a little shorter.”   


“They can be longer or shorter than human ones, depending on the type of monster. I’d expect anywhere from early April to this time next year, but we’ll be able to estimate more surely once we’ve had some time to monitor their growth.”   


“So I could be pregnant for a whole year?” That sounded absolutely terrible. Waiting nine months was bad enough.   


“I don’t think it will take that long. Hopefully, in your case it will be a short one.”   


“I had better start thinking of names then.”   


“You’ve got a little time.” The doctor smiled. “Would you like to see them today?”   


For as much as Frisk hated ultrasound goo, she loved the idea of looking at her child. Even if they were only a mass of magic at this point. “Of course.”   


In no time at all, they were looking at the screen filled with blue. It seemed to be taking some sort of shape that she wanted to believe was vaguely humanoid. She heard her mother sniffle behind her.   


“No crying yet, Mom, we don’t even know if they’ll have scales or fur.”   


“Hopefully they’ll look like you, Princess.” Sans said, standing at her side. Despite being rather peeved at him, she reached over and took his hand in hers. He was just looking out for her, after all.   


“Maybe they’ll end up like you.” What was it that Sans used to call Papyrus - baby bones? She couldn’t help but smile.   


“I don’t know if the world can handle that.” He laced the bones of his fingers in hers and it felt right. They could figure this out. Weren’t they soulmates, after all? She didn’t want to let that cloud her decisions, but it did hold a certain amount of comfort, especially now. Whatever it was that was currently causing him concern, they’d figure it out together. They had to.   


“Look at this, my child, they are trying to share their magic with you.” Her mother’s voice grabbed her attention and she looked at the screen. “Can you feel it?”   


She saw the small wave of blue and orange bounce from her child and out of the screen, but she did not know what she was supposed to be feeling. “I don’t know what you mean.” She admitted.   


“If their soul is already trying to connect with yours, I don’t think you’re in for a very long pregnancy.” The doctor said with a small smile.   


“I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”   


“Right now, your child is capable of small emotions, and with their magic - an extension of their soul - is trying to let you know how they are feeling.”   


“Does this happen often? I haven’t felt anything..” Had it been trying to communicate with her this whole time, and she had been unable to feel anything?   


“A-Asriel and I would bounce emotions back and forth through my entire pregnancy. He was a very needy child, but it was comforting to know how he was doing.” Her mother said softly.   


Of course. Another magical thing she was missing out on. Her child had to be so lonely, trying to reach out to her and getting nothing back. She watched another pulse flit across the screen, but felt nothing. Her heart sank. “I can’t feel them.”   


“Determination can make the soul a bit.. thick.” The doctor said carefully, removing the probe from her stomach. “Perhaps it is an ability you can develop.”   


“Right.” Frisk had a hard time believing that. Their tiny little soul must be so lonely.   


“In the meantime, it is possible that others can share with them. It would be good for them to come into contact with the magic and emotions of others.”   


Catching sight of her mother’s hopeful expression, she couldn’t help but ask. “Do you want to try, Momma?”   


“Would that be okay, my child? I do not wish to-“  


“Please?” She asked, letting go of Sans’ hand as she sat up and turned around to face her, a bright smile on her mother’s soft face.   


“I’m sure you remember, but soft, positive emotions, especially at first. Love, happiness, hope, gently push them from your soul to theirs.” The doctor instructed as he helped Frisk clean the goo from her stomach with a warm washcloth.   


“Of course.” Her mother said, reaching out towards Frisk but pulling back away, with a small frown.   


Frisk grabbed her mother’s paw, and held it to her stomach. “It’s okay Mom, I promise. I’m sure they want to tell their grandmother hello.”   


Her mother sniffled a little before she smiled, but that was to be expected. Frisk felt something warm pass through her skin, and a few moments later, felt a cool sensation on her skin beneath her mother’s warm fur.   


“What are they feeling?” Frisk asked, wanting nothing more than to be able to feel what her mother had just felt. She couldn’t help but be jealous that she couldn’t even connect with her child, but anyone else with magic could. It wasn’t fair.   


Her mother smiled weakly. “They are.. happy, my child.”   


She didn’t exactly believe that. “Momma, please, I want to know.”   


“They are scared and lonely.. but they are so strong. I wish..” Her mother pulled away from her then, and Frisk did not know what to do. She did know, however, that things would be so much different, had she magic of her own. But souls like hers always had ways of getting things done, and she was determined to make things better, for both herself and her child.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, that's enough catching up for one day. I would have posted more often but the submission system for Ao3 is really confusing to me, but I think I have it figured out. I'll be posting more chapters over the next few days until I get this caught up to what I have posted on fanfiction, and then will be posting regular chapters on both sites. There's nineteen chapters there so far, so if you can't wait you can find me there under the username TigerLilyBulb. Other than that, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.


	10. What Had Been Found

The car ride back from the doctor’s was quiet, to say the least, each of them dealing with their own demons. The queen drove, expression somber as she tried not to dwell on her lost children, while Frisk lay her head against the window in the passenger seat in front of Sans, one hand pressed to her stomach where her child - their child - lived and grew in silence.

Sans himself sat quietly in the backseat, trying to come to terms with his newfound sense of mortality. He was a boss monster, obvious from the strength of his magic and the larger sense of determination in his soul. But he always forgot the other parts of the equation, that if her were to have children, he would age as they did, giving his power up to them as the years went on, before eventually the last of his magic would give out - sure he had a long time before that happened, but to suddenly have an expiration date, if even an unsure one - he wasn’t sure how to handle it.

He wasn’t sure if Frisk was aware of this, but she had handled the own threat on her life that the child posed so admirably, even if he had not been able to stand the thought. She was very young, by both monster and human standards to be having a child, but was so willing to throw her life away for its. Humans could be so maddening sometimes, with the way they disregarded their worth of their own lives.

He couldn’t stand the thought of losing her - he would one day, he knew, as damnably short-lived as humans were - but everything considered, he couldn’t bring himself to convince her to give up the kid, either. And if she wasn’t going to give up, he wouldn’t either. And for as much as scared as he was to admit it, the baby needed him. He just hoped he could fulfil the responsibility.

“Hey Frisk?” He said softly, as they were turning onto her street.

“Yeah?”

“I’ve got a story for you.”

“Okay?”

“So there once was this old man with a long red beard named Rudolph, and because of that, everyone called him Rudolph the Red.”

She groaned. “Sans, I swear to god.”

“Hear me out, okay? Anyway, one day, the old man says to his wife that it’s going to rain, and she doesn’t believe him, because it was a beautiful day outside, and she wanted to hang the laundry out on the line.”

She sighed. “So did it rain?”

“Of course it did. The minute his wife had all the clothes out on the line, it just started coming down in buckets, and they both had to run outside to get everything.” They pulled into the garage, but no one moved as they waited for the punchline. “And his wife turns to him, pretty upset that she was wrong, and asked him how he knew it was going to rain. And he turns to her and says” He paused for emphasis. “Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear.”

Frisk put her head on the dashboard and groaned, but he caught her smiling and laughing silently. The queen, however, roared with laughter, like it was the best thing she had heard in a while.

“Dammit, Sans.” Frisk giggled. “Now you have to watch Christmas movies with me.”

“Pap and I still have Rudolph and A Year Without Santa Claus, if you want to come over.”

“A Year Without Santa Claus is mine, you two borrowed it and never gave it back.” Frisk accused, and he was relatively certain she had brought it over a couple years ago and they had never gotten around to watching it, but that was alright.

“Well, how about you come over tomorrow night and we can watch it.”

“Can we make hot chocolate with the fun colored marshmallows?”

“It’s not like I have three bags in my cupboard or anything.” He had bought them last week in preparation for Frisk coming home, in addition to cinnamon sticks and the popcorn she liked.

“I’ll leave you two to your planning.” The queen said, opening her door. “Would you like to stay for dinner, Sans?”

“Thanks, Your Majesty, but I have to work in a couple hours, and Pap is making soup for me.” His brother had texted him earlier to make sure that he would be home to try his new recipe.

“Sans.” The queen said in a way that would cause him concern if she wasn’t smiling.

“Yes?”

“Call me mom. Or Toriel, at least.” She had been asking him to do so for years, but he could never quite get himself to do it.

“Can I call you Tori? Or Toreador?”

She chuckled. “Anything but ‘your majesty’ - you are dating my daughter, after all.”

“Mom, we’re not -“ Frisk turned as red as he was blue and buried her face in her hands.

“Whatever you say.” The queen teased, before getting out of the car and heading into the house.

“We might as well make it official, no one believes that we’re not anyway.” Frisk said, resting her head back against her seat.

“Well, since you’re asking so nicely..” Sans replied, leaning forward to rest his head on the back of her seat and wrap his arms around her the best he could from his position.

She moved his arms to her shoulders, resting her head in the crook of his elbow. “We’ve got a lot we need to talk about.” She murmured. “But I also just want to say screw it and kiss your dumb face. But I feel like that isn’t the best way to start a relationship.”

That morning, when they had been curled up in her bed, he had wanted nothing more than to kiss her and call her his, and the feeling had not faded in the least since then. “Well, kisses first, adult conversations later isn’t the worst relationship dynamic.”

“Saaans.” She nipped at him and he pulled his arm away quickly, surprised by her sudden act of violence.

“Ow! Hey, what was that for?”

“I wanted to know what you taste like.”

“So that’s how it is now?”

“Yep. And you taste weird.” She rubbed her jaw with one hand. “And you’re really hard.”

“Huh, it’s almost like I’m made out of bone.”

“What? I had no idea.”

“You’re so cute when you’re being weird.” He wrapped his arms back around her shoulders, pulling her into the seat.

“Thanks, nerd. I guess you’re pretty cute, too.” She pressed her lips against his ulna, and he expected another nip that never came.

“You guess?”

“Mhm. Also, I’m still pretty pissed at you for trying to suggest I give up on this kid.”

Apparently they were talking about that now. “I’m just scared of losing you.” He admitted, deflating a little.

She wrapped her hands around his wrists and held him tight. “You’re not going to lose me. I’m a little more determined than that.”

“I know you are. But I’m allowed to worry.” He looked down at his legs, a stark white contrast to his black and blue basketball shorts.

“I know. I just-“ She hummed into his bones and he didn’t know what she wanted to say. He decided to give her some time to think, and she rewarded his patience a few moments later. “I just thought you would be on my side about all this. I know it’s expecting a lot, but part of me keeps imagining us as some sort of .. some sort of family. I know it’s too early for all that, but it’s nice to think about, you know?”

He exhaled softly. A family - with him, no less. It was better than the alternatives, but he still found it hard to believe that she wanted him like that. He had came over that morning to tell her that he wanted to help in any way he could, that he wanted to be with her, if she wanted that as well, but to call them a family just felt right, in a strange sort of way. Even if it was an awful lot very fast. “I wouldn’t go that far. But I do want to try to get there, someday.”

“I think I can live with that.” She pressed another kiss into his arm and he felt himself grow lighter. They sat there in silence for some time before she spoke again. “Can I ask you a question? I’ll be careful with your spine.”

It took him a moment to realize what she meant, until he remembered the open book joke he had made the other day. “Well, since you already know the rules, ask away.”

“Why did you get so concerned when the doctor asked you if you were a boss monster? I don’t know if it’s a personal question or not, but I didn’t think he’d ask if it was?”

The garage was probably not the best location for the conversation they were having, but they were never good at such things. “The question itself wasn’t the issue. I just remembered something important, and it scared me.” It still did, but he wasn’t sure if she needed to know that.

“Can I ask what it was?” She asked, tracing her finger along the bones of his hand. Something about her touch was just so soothing. He wanted to tell her everything.

“You can, but I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Will you try, for me?”

He was surprised that she didn’t already know. Or if she did, she just wasn’t realizing it. “For lack of better phrasing, monsters like me only age if they have children. It’s a way of passing on our power.” The child she carried would one day be the reason he turned to dust, if he wanted to think about it that way. There were worse ways to go, he supposed. His only real concern was that there would be no one to care for Papyrus. He couldn’t leave his brother alone in the world, and it wasn’t like he was the type to have any kids of his own.

Of course, Sans had always thought that about himself, too.

“Oh. Oh.” She leaned forward, clutching his arms to her. “Sans.. I’m sorry.”

“Frisk, it’s - Frisk, will you look at me? It’s hard to talk to you like this.”

She pulled out of his grasp and got out of the van, before opening his door. “Scoot over.” She instructed, and he moved just enough to let her in. “Better?” She asked, looking at him with a soft smile.

He nodded, and took her hands in his. He wasn’t sure when they started holding hands during difficult conversations, but it was so soothing. “I’m not upset about it, or anything, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“That’s good.. I understand now why you might not want me to keep it.” She said with a sad expression. “But I can’t-“

“No, I want you to keep it. I want this kid. Maybe not as much as you do, but I’m warming up to the idea.” Slowly. “And I can’t imagine giving up on something that already has a soul.”

“That means a lot.” She smiled. Why did she have to be so beautiful?

“I’m sorry if I upset you earlier.”

“I understand.” She said. “I was being a bit selfish, before. Anyway.. since I can’t, do you want to talk to it - or whatever you call the emotions thing?”

While he hadn’t exactly been the most eager to try earlier, the idea didn’t sound so bad now. “Sure.” He also knew that not being able to do it herself was upsetting her, so passing on the chance seemed rather rude. He let go of her hand and put his fingers on her stomach, but drew back. “It should work a little better without your shirt in the way, um if you don’t-“ He felt his cheeks get a little warm.

“I asked you if you wanted to have a moment with your child, not if you wanted to cop a feel.” She teased, but grabbed his hand and put it beneath her shirt anyway. She was always so warm and soft, and he wanted to wrap himself up in her. The feeling of warmth and security is the one that he pushed from his soul, and his fingers shook a little as he worried if the little one would send anything back.

He looked at Frisk, who was watching him with a gentle curiosity. When she was younger, she had always talked about how much she wanted to be a monster so she could do cool things with magic as well, and he wondered if she still felt the same way. Instead of asking, he pressed his closed mouth to her forehead, a weak approximation of a kiss that made blue sparks crackle down his spine. He almost missed his child’s weak response, gratitude, maybe, but also bubbling happiness.

He felt himself inflate with a sort of paternal protectiveness that he hadn’t expected from himself, allowing his magic to be drawn away, replacing what the child had lost in growing. She needed him so much, and he just wanted to make everything okay. He might fail, but the worst he could do was fail to try.

Frisk lay her head on his shoulder, groaning a little. “What are you doing?”

He probably should have warned her, but hadn’t thought of doing so. “Sharing my magic. They needed it, and - I haven’t hurt you, have I?” He knew he couldn’t, but he was still concerned.

“It’s just really warm and strange.” She said sleepily.

“Tired already, love?” The pet name was out before he could think about it.

“It’s been a long day. Being pregnant is exhausting.” He could only imagine.

“Come on, let’s get you inside. You need to eat first.”

“You probably have a point.” She moved her head from his shoulder, but didn’t go much farther than that. Would it be too much to kiss her? He wasn’t even sure how to kiss, really, but perhaps she’d forgive his inexperience.

“Can I-“

“Please.”

He leaned his head towards hers, still trying to figure out how to do things. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was soft, and he decided to close his as well before leaning forward - his phone started ringing, loudly, startling the both of them. The back of her mother’s van wasn’t exactly the most stellar choice for a first kiss, but still.

“Papyrus?” She asked, recognizing the ringtone - it was a catchy little tune called Bonetrousle that he had found in the default ringtones of his first phone, and he had used it for his brother ever since.

“Sorry..” He said, pulling his phone from his pocket and answering it, holding his phone a few inches from his skull.

“SANS! I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO BE HOME FOR DINNER!”

He looked at the time. Seven thirty. He was barely going to have time to eat before work at this rate. “Sorry bro, we just got back from Frisk’s appointment. I’m on my way now.”

“HOW IS THE LITTLEST HUMAN DOING?” That nickname probably wasn’t going to stick as well as Pap thought it would.

“Doing great, bro. I uh, have some good news for you.”

“ACTUAL GOOD NEWS, OR DID YOUR ORDER OF WHOOPIE CUSHIONS COME IN?”

Frisk giggled at that, shaking her head a little. “They had better not be for me.”

“Of course not.” He whispered, before replying to his brother. “Those won’t ship till Thursday, they’re backed up because of the holidays. I’ll tell you when I get home, okay?”

“ALRIGHT. BUT HURRY UP, I WANT TO KNOW IF MY RECIPE IS AS GREAT AS I THINK IT IS.

”  
“I’m sure it’s great, bro.”

“OF COURSE IT IS. BUT I WANT TO HEAR THAT AFTER YOU TRY IT.”

“I’ll be home in a few.”

“NO TELEPORTING.”

He was too tired from sharing magic to do that. “I don’t want to leave my car at Frisk’s. I’ll see you when I get home.” Click. His brother never had the patience to wrap up a conversation properly.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” He asked Frisk, who was getting out of the van. He followed after her, closing the door after him.

“What time?”

“Later in the afternoon, I’ll want to sleep after work. Six or seven, maybe?”

“Seven, I promised Mom that I’d make supper.”

“It’s a date then.”

“Keep saying things like that and people will think we’re together.” She teased.

“Wouldn’t that be a tragedy.”

* * *

Sans had barely had the chance to change out of his work clothes and lie down in his bed when he heard Papyrus’ alarm go off. As much as he hated the night shift, it gave him the excuse to sleep most of the day, and that meant that Papyrus would leave him be. He had overtaxed his magic stocking shelves after how much he had given away, and he just needed some sleep.

There was a loud knock on the door. “SANS!”

“Your scarf is in the kitchen, bro.” He was always leaving it around.

“I KNOW. YOU PROMISED TO TELL ME THE GOOD NEWS WHEN YOU GOT OFF WORK.”

Patience was not one of Pap’s virtues. “Why don’t you go get the Gyftmas decorations out of the garage, and we’ll talk after that?” That should give him a solid hour or so of sleep.

“ARE WE GOING TO DECORATE BEFORE EVERYONE COMES OVER?”

“Since when is Frisk everyone?”

“WE CAN’T HAVE A MOVIE WATCHING PARTY WITHOUT UNDYNE AND ALPHYS, SO I TOOK THE LIBERTY OF INVITING THEM OVER AS WELL!”

Leave it to his brother to turn a quiet evening into a party. “Looks like you’re going to have to run to the store for snacks.”

“I HADN’T THOUGHT OF THAT! I SUPPOSE I HAD BETTER LET YOU REST AFTER WORK, BUT WHEN I GET BACK FROM THE STORE WE ARE DECORATING!”

“Sounds like a plan, bro. Take your time.” He rolled over and covered his head with his pillow as he heard Pap bounce down the stairs.

He awoke again a few hours later to the sound of crashing from the kitchen, and despite his desire to fall back asleep, he decided to get up and check on his brother.

Sliding his feet into his pink slippers (Alphys swore she had ordered him blue ones, but he knew better), he padded down the stairs to find Papyrus lugging in a giant evergreen tree.

“I knew you were thinking of getting a houseplant, Pap, but this is a little ridiculous.”

“ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE BAD JOKES OR HELP ME?”

“I don’t know why I can’t do both.” He replied, making the stump blue - that used more energy than usual, but it had been a long night - and helped his brother set it up in the corner of the living room. It barely fit.

“SANTA IS GOING TO BE SO PROUD!”

“He sure is.” One day, he’d tell Pap the truth about Santa. But today was not going to be that day. Tomorrow didn’t look so good, either. Maybe in a few years, when it was time to tell his and Frisk’s kid the truth.

Or they’d never tell either of them. That seemed like the best plan. It wasn’t a hard charade to keep up, after all.

“NOW THAT YOU’RE AWAKE, I CAN SHOW YOU THE SUPER FESTIVE THING I FOUND AT THE STORE!”

He followed his brother into the kitchen, where he hadn’t noticed the shopping bags and the fact that all four of their crock pots were plugged in. He pulled the lid off of one - cheese dip. His favorite. “Everything looks great, Pap.”

Papyrus puffed up with pride. “I’M MAKING EVERYONE’S FAVORITE HOLIDAY FOOD! I EVEN BOUGHT FANCY HOT CHOCOLATE!” He pulled the container out of the shopping bag he was looking through and put it on the counter.

He didn’t know what he’d do without Papyrus. Or for that matter, what Papyrus was going to do without him. Hopefully he had a century or two to figure that out, but it really didn’t feel like that long.

“Is that what you wanted to show me?”

“NO. I’M HAVING TROUBLE FINDING IT - WAIT. HERE IT IS!” His brother triumphantly pulled what looked to be - no it definitely was mistletoe - out of one of the bags.

“Pap. No.”

“IT’S TRADITION! NYEH-HEH-HEH!”

He groaned. “It’s only tradition if you make it a tradition.” Like how he and Frisk always spent the day after Valentine’s Day stocking up on cheap heart shaped candy and watching horror movies. Mistletoe, however was a tradition he was happy to skip out on.

Pap, however, was not to be moved, and the offending plant was hung in the doorway to the kitchen.

“SO WHAT’S THE GOOD NEWS?” Papyrus finally remembered to ask as he was holding Sans up so he could put the star on top of the tree. “HAS THE QUEEN FINALLY DECIDED TO REINSTATE THE ROYAL GUARD?”

“Not exactly, bro.” He replied, carefully affixing the bright orange star. He was slowly learning that real pine needles were sharp. “Put me down and we’ll talk while we put on the ornaments.”

Pap put him down carefully and Sans sat on the floor and handed his taller brother an ornament from the box. It was one of their bone shaped ones that was actually a Halloween decoration, not that he’d ever tell his brother. “It’s about Frisk.” He started, detangling two ornaments from each other and handing them to his bro.

“ARE YOU TWO FINALLY GOING TO GO ON A DATE?”

“Uh. Maybe. But that isn’t it.” The next one out of the box was one of the ones Frisk had given to Pap, a little bowl of spaghetti made out of clay.

“MAYBE? HOW CAN YOU MAYBE GO OUT?” Pap asked, carefully placing his favorite ornament.

“We’re working it out.” He handed Pap another bright silver bone.

“FINALLY!”

“Anyway, that’s not the point, Pap.” He didn’t even know how to tell his brother. He was going to be so excited, and Sans wanted to tell him, but words were difficult, sometimes.

“GET TO THE POINT THEN, SANS. I HAVE BEEN WAITING ALL DAY.”

A picture of the three of them, placed in the middle of a snow globe. It had been taken after Frisk’s winter concert her eighth grade year. She was dressed like a reindeer, but had put her antlers on Pap. His sweater that year had been particularly ridiculous. “This one’s fragile.” He handed it carefully to Pap, who had held it while he waited for Sans to finally tell him. “You’ve been calling Frisk’s baby the littlest human, right?”

“RIGHT. BECAUSE IT IS THE LITTLEST HUMAN I KNOW.”

“Well, bro, it’s not human.”

“IF YOU’RE MAKING SOME SORT OF JOKE, I DON’T UNDERSTAND.” Papyrus gave him a look of disbelief.

“No jokes bro, honest. My magic it uh, changed it. The baby is a monster now.” Poor wording, but it got the point across.

His favorite ornament shattered on the floor as Papyrus scooped him into a hug. “I’M GOING TO BE AN UNCLE! SANS! THIS IS THE BEST GIFT YOU COULD HAVE GIVEN ME! I’M GOING TO BE THE BEST UNCLE EVER!”

“I suppose I had better return what I got you then.” He said. “Pap, you’re crushing me.”

Pap pretended he didn’t hear and continued to hug him. “AND NOW THAT YOU AND FRISK ARE GOING TO BE PARENTS, YOU HAVE TO BE TOGETHER.”

“We’re working it out. Papyrus, seriously, let me go.” But his over-exuberant brother refused.

“THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST GYFTMAS EVER!”

“Sure is, bro. It sure is.”


	11. Some Poor Planning

“So I thinking of wearing an ugly reindeer sweater to the Gyftmas Celebration this year.” Frisk suggested to her parents as they ate supper together. Her parents put it on every year in the great banquet hall of the monster embassy (that most of the monster population referred to as the palace), and her friends always attended in the most ridiculous sweaters they could find.

“I thought we agreed upon a candy striped hoop skirt for you this year, my child.” Her parents, of course, dressed as Mr. and Mrs. Claus for most of the event, and as their ‘elf’, they had dressed her in increasingly embarrassing outfits. Last year had been a red and green dress in the heaviest fabric she had ever seen, and it had been time to celebrate the spring equinox before Sans had let her live it down.

“I never agreed on that, Momma.” She sliced the head off of a dinosaur shaped chicken nugget with her fork. She had burnt what she had tried to make for supper - the lasagna pan would never be the same again - so dino nuggets and tator tots shaped like smiling faces it was. As well as a salad, but that was her mother’s contribution.

“You’ll be so cute though, look at this.” Her mother pulled up a photo on her phone and showed it to her. It was worse than she had imagined.

“I don’t even think I can walk in skirts that big.” She mushed a tot through ketchup so it looked like its eyes were bleeding.

“You are very coordinated, dear. Isn’t she?” Her mother turned to her father for assistance.

“Well..” Her father said delicately, poking at a rogue crouton.

“Momma. I once sprained my arm trying to get out of bed. And I almost passed out in the outfit you picked out last year.”

“That was more the fault of the corset than anything. This one has a much more forgiving bodice.”

“That’s good, because the way I’ve been gaining weight I probably can’t wear one anymore.” College food had not been forgiving, and being pregnant didn’t help, not that she really was built for a corset before.

“Well dear, you don’t exactly have the best eating habits. Why don’t you have some of this salad, it’s very good.” Her mother offered the bowl to her.

She took some to appease her mother. “I’m pregnant. I’m going to gain weight.”

“I know, dear, but that doesn’t mean - how do you manage to take a scoop of salad with no spinach in it?”

“Well Mom, I’d tell you, but you’d keep trying to feed me spinach and we all know how that is going to work out.” She grabbed the bottle of ranch and proceeded to drench the offending greenery in it. Not even the croutons were spared.

“Frisk.”

“Mom.”

Her mother sighed. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Let me wear an ugly sweater with my friends?”

“It is a cute tradition that they have going on.” Her father said delicately, but was silenced by her mother.

“I’ll make you a deal, Mom. Let me wear a sweater and jeans this year, and next year you can dress me and the baby in whatever ridiculous get-up that you want.” Her kid was never going to forgive her, but it was for the greater good.

“And Sans?”

“When did he get dragged into this?”

“I assumed you two would be married by then.”

“Mom!” Having a kid was one thing, but that was too far. “We haven’t even been on a date yet.”

“You are having a child together.” Monsters were weird about marriage, in the fact that they only got married if they wanted to have children. There was probably some historical reason, but Frisk couldn’t remember.

“This isn’t the traditional monster pregnancy, you know.” Frisk was still having trouble deciding if she could call it his or not.

“I know dear, but it is a bit easier to explain if you’re getting married. Or at least announce an engagement. You can wait as long as you want to actually get married.”

“Are you ashamed of me?”

“Of course not. But you do have to admit that it is hard to explain.”

“It’s hard to explain either way. Monsters and humans aren’t exactly compatible, ya know? I got knocked up the old fashioned way and there isn’t a kind of magic out there that can leave well enough alone.”

“Frisk.” Her mother said sternly, before shooting a glare to Frisk’s father, who was chuckling. “What in the world could you be laughing at?”

Her father tried her best to compose himself before speaking, but there was still a grin on his face. “She has a point, you know.”

Her mother heaved the most long-suffering of sighs. “You two are really impossible, you know that.”

“You’re the one trying to shotgun wed me to someone who isn’t even the one who knocked me up.”

“I thought college was supposed to improve your style of speaking, my child, not butcher it.”

Where had she learned to speak like that? From her roommate’s friends, probably. It still surprised her that she was the one that had gotten pregnant. “College was supposed to do a lot of things that it didn’t.”

“Obviously.”

“Admit it, Mom. You are embarrassed of me.”

“Not embarrassed, my child, but I did want things to go differently for you.”

“Haven’t we already had this conversation?”

“In part, yes. It’s just hard for me, sometimes, to let you make your own mistakes.”

Her father put a hand on her mother’s arm. “Didn’t you have plans at seven, dear? It’s a quarter till.”

Her dad was the best. “I do, actually. Um, can I be excused?”

Her mother looked like she was about to say something, but her father let her go with a wink. She all but jumped out of her chair, gave her father a quick hug and her mother a peck on the cheek, and was out the door with a “Love you!” before they could stop her.

* * *

It wasn’t until Frisk was trekking down the street from her car to the gas station - she had guessed wrong that she could make it on an empty tank- that Frisk wished she had grabbed her coat. It was rather windy and the hoodie she had gotten for free at some spirit event was doing little to keep her any sort of warm or dry.

Her teeth chattered as she stomped the snow off her shoes upon entering the store. After filling a cup with cappuccino, she shuffled her way to the back of the store on her search for gas cans. All she found was booze.

Honestly, though it wasn’t what she needed, she could really go for a drink. It was easy to forget that she was underage when no one in college cared. Though maybe she could get Sans or Alphys to -

Wait. She was pregnant. Drinking was off the agenda. As it should be anyway.

However, there was a small red gas can hanging out by the bottled water, so that was nice. She had grabbed it and was making her way up to the counter when she felt her phone buzz in her pocket.

She sniffled a little before answering it, glad that her teeth had stopped chattering. “Hey Paps, what do you need?”

“YOU ARE FIVE MINUTES LATE, AND I WAS CHECKING ON YOU.”

“I’m okay, just at the gas station. I’ll be there in fifteen.” She tried to sniffle quietly, but her nose was running like a sieve.

“HAVE YOU FALLEN ILL?”

Dammit. “Just a little cold, my car ran out of gas down the street.”

“WHY DIDN’T YOU CALL ONE OF US TO COME GET YOU?”

“It’s maybe four blocks, I have working feet.” Maybe she should have called though, her feet were soaked and the walk back didn’t sound like any sort of fun.

“YOU ARE IN A VERY DELICATE CONDITION, YOU SHOULDN’T BE OUT IN THIS WEATHER.”

It was a good thing that he couldn’t see that she wasn’t wearing a coat. “I’m stronger than I look.”

“SANS! GO WARM UP THE CAR, WE’RE GOING ON A RESCUE MISSION!”

“You really don’t need t-t - achoo! - Pap, I’m fine.”

“AS THE BEST UNCLE EVER, I CANNOT ACCEPT NO FOR AN ANSWER. WHICH GAS STATION ARE YOU AT?”

“Since when are you my uncle, Papyrus?” That could get weird fast.

“NOT YOURS, SILLY HUMAN, THE BABY’S!”

Right. Sans had said he had taken the news well.. “I’m at the new Conch Station on East Froggit Drive. Uh. Wear a coat, it’s a bit chilly.”

“WE WILL BE THERE SOON! DON’T GO ANYWHERE.” Click.

Frisk paid for her drink and gas can - she’d buy gas when they arrived - and shuffled over to the little table in the back to sip at it while she waited to be rescued, shivering a little as the dampness of her clothes continued to chill her. She blew her nose on one a napkin, praying to any deity that would listen that she wouldn’t get sick.

The warmth of the coffee made her tummy feel warmer at least, and she hoped her little one was doing okay. She really needed to start thinking about more than herself. Would it really have killed her to grab her coat, or to have filled up her car the other day?

She heard the jingle of the door opening and Papyrus crash in. “HUMAN! I AM HERE TO RESCUE YOU!” He was carrying a large fluffy blanket.

“I’m right here.” She called, and Pap rushed over to her.

“HUMAN! WHERE IS YOUR COAT? YOU’RE SOAKING WET! I DON’T THINK IT IS GOOD FOR YOU TO BE WET AND COLD!”

“It’s not recommended, but I think I’ll make it. Thanks for coming to get me.”

“YOU ARE MOST WELCOME! YOU CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON THE GREAT PAPYRUS!”

She held back another sneeze. “You’re the best, Pap.”

“OF COURSE I AM! NOW LET’S GET YOU SOMEPLACE WARM.”

She stood up. “Great plan. I want to rescue my car though.”

“ALREADY TAKEN CARE OF! WE PUT GAS IN IT AND SANS IS DRIVING IT BACK.”

“How- oh wait. You guys have the spare keys.” Sans never gave them back after he borrowed it last summer.

“YOU GAVE US QUITE THE SCARE YOU KNOW - WAIT. ARE YOU DRINKING COFFEE? YOU SHOULDN’T BE HAVING CAFFEINE RIGHT NOW.”

Frisk really hoped her pregnancy was going to be short, because if this was any indication of how it was going to be, she wasn’t sure if she could handle it. “It’s just hot cocoa.”

“BUT YOU HATE GAS STATION COCOA.”

She sighed. “I’ll be okay, Papyrus, it’s just a cappuccino.”

“I’M SORRY, BUT I’M GOING TO HAVE TO CONFISCATE IT, FOR YOUR OWN GOOD.”

She tossed it in the trash begrudgingly. It was really going to be a long couple of months.

* * *

Papyrus insisted upon carrying her from his car to the house, as the wind had filled the driveway with snow, and she didn’t have the energy to argue.

She was really not prepared, however, for how concerned Sans was. “Frisk, you’re cold to the touch. Where’s your coat?”

“At home. I’m fine.” He was pulling her shoes and socks off for her, and while it was nice to get them off, she could do it herself.

“Papyrus, go get a bath started for her.” Sans instructed, while he tried to rub some feeling back into her toes. She could barely feel his fingers. “If I had known you were-“

She pulled away from him. “Sans. I’m okay. I got cold, I’ll survive.”

“You can’t be getting sick right now, it’s not-”

“I’m not going to get -“ A coughing fit overtook her. She had been feeling a little sniffley that morning, it wasn’t because of getting cold, she told herself. She could have handled the situation. She was more than capable of taking care of herself.

He sighed. “Come on, a hot bath will do you good.”

“I don’t have anything to change into.”

“You have what you left here the other day, I even washed them for you.”

Frisk suddenly remembered leaving her clothes on the bathroom floor after her shower - she had meant to grab them but had gone to the emergency room instead. That meant Sans had totally seen her really embarrassing panties with cats on them and she could not deal with that at the moment. “You didn’t have to do that. And you don’t need to take care of me right now, really. I’m okay.”

“I know, but just humor me, okay? A bath and then we can curl up on the couch.”

That didn’t sound too bad. “If you insist.” She got up. “Hey, aren’t Undyne and Alphys supposed to be here?”

“Alphys is finishing up an experiment, and they’ll head over.”

Alphys would probably be late to her own funeral because she had been finishing up an experiment, so Frisk didn’t expect them to arrive anytime soon.

However, as Frisk was just slipping into the tub, having chased her concerned rescuers out of the bathroom so she could undress, she heard Undyne’s extremely loud voice. She was worse than Papyrus sometimes.

Sans did have a point, the warm water helped a lot. She could feel the chill that had seeped into her bones begin to dissipate, and she allowed herself to close her eyes and relax for a few moments.

The water was starting to cool off a bit when she heard a quiet knock on the door. “HUMAN, I PUT A TOWEL IN THE DRYER FOR YOU, ARE YOU READY TO GET OUT?”

“I am, have Alphy’s bring it- Hey!” She grabbed the curtain and pulled it as closed as Papyrus opened the door a crack, set the towel on the counter, and closed it again.

He had some tact. A thimbleful, maybe, but she loved him anyway.

She pulled the plug and grabbed the towel, reveling in its warmth. Maybe she liked being taken care of - just a little - but it still bothered her. She could definitely take care of herself, even if it didn’t always seem like it. She had been doing fine by herself, and just because her kid had magic now didn’t mean anything.

She just couldn’t maintain it’s magic levels by herself or sense anything from it at all. But that was okay. Or at least, she was pretending it didn’t upset her.

She looked at herself in the mirror, trying to see if she could notice any sort of baby bump, but other than her usual layer of pudge - albeit she had definetly gained the freshman fifteen - she was found lacking.

Finally, enticed by the delicious smells that permeated the house and feeling quite ravenous after all her adventures, she slipped into her comfy pajamas (and nice, dry cat themed underwear) and went to meet her friends in the kitchen, where she could hear them having a heated debate about something.

She wasn’t even surprised to see Sans and Undyne at each other’s throats - blasters whining and spears shimmering in midair. Alphys and Papyrus were elsewhere, and Frisk wished she had gone looking for them first.

“Now this feels familiar.” Frisk said, and they both turned to look at her, weapons dissipating immediately. That was a first.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Sans asked, as though he hadn’t just been in the middle of a battle.

“Better. What were you two fighting about this time?”

He paused, pensively, before turning to Undyne. “Do you remember?”

Undyne shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, dweeb.” Of course.

Sans rolled the lights in his eyes. “Are you hungry, Frisk? Pap’s made a little of everything.”

“Starving, actually.” She admitted.

“You are eating for two now.” Undyne teased.

“Does that mean I get first dibs on the cocktail weenies?”

“Unless you mean Sans, absolutely not.”

She had walked into that one.

After filling a plate up with more food than she could eat, and then a little more because Papyrus insisted, Frisk curled up on the couch with a fuzzy blanket to watch Rudolph with her friends, feeling a bit sniffly still, but otherwise better.

Shamelessly, she lay her head on Sans’ shoulder, and he offered her a chip coated in cheese dip, which she accepted. While she had gotten upset with him earlier, it was nice to know that he had her back. And while it bothered her a little that it had only happened because the kid was his, she really couldn’t blame him.

She also wasn’t sure how to describe what they were now, but this state of being between lovers and friends seemed to work for her. She might even try to kiss him later, assuming Papyrus didn’t call and interrupt. The kiss he had pressed to her forehead had been more than enough to fill her with butterflies, and she was excited for more.

She stole a glance at him, he was humming along to the song about being more than a misfit that Alphys and Papyrus were currently belting, a genuine smile on his face. She felt her heart swell with happiness.

Sans put his plate and hers - somehow she had managed to eat everything - on the floor in front of them. “Hey Frisk, I’ve got a question for you.”

“Yeah?”

“If you were a pirate, would you want your parrot on this shoulder -“ He put his hand on the shoulder closest to him, “Or this one?” He put his arm around her, resting his hand on her other shoulder.

Did he just - “Your pickup lines are worse than your puns.” She replied, nuzzling her head into his neck. Nerd.

Of course, she was the one that fell for him.

“When’s the wedding, you two?” Undyne snickered.

“Didn’t you get your invitation?” Sans replied with a rude gesture.

“I don’t think I got it, want to send it again?” Undyne challenged.

“Here you go, Undyne.” Frisk replied with the middle fingers of both hands. “Try not to lose these ones.”

“That’s some way to thank one of the people that finally brought you two together.” Alphys teased.

“When’s your wedding, guys?.” Frisk replied, pleased when Alphys’ cheeks darkened.

Undyne, however, was oblivious to her girlfriend’s blush, and shrugged. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”

Sans’ expression fell, and Frisk couldn’t help but feel bad. She had no idea how it felt, being human, but this kid changed a lot of things about how his magic worked and his life expectancy.

“I CAN’T HEAR THE MOVIE.”

“Sorry, Papyrus.” Frisk said softly to the disgruntled skeleton that was splayed out on the floor, before nuzzling the quiet one beside her. She couldn’t fix things, but she could be there for him, like he always was for her.

They were all quiet for some time, and Frisk felt herself getting sleepy around the part about the island of misfit toys - which was a shame because it was her favorite part. Sans’ arm had fallen to her side, and he was drawing lazy circles on her hip with one finger.

She had always been afraid of getting into a relationship with him because she worried that it would be awkward, but this she could live with. Things weren’t quite defined, but she didn’t really see either of them considering anyone else anytime soon, and that worked for her.

She nestled in closer to Sans, happy to steal his body heat as he was always so much warmer than her, before deciding to wrap her blanket around the both of them.

“Good to see you two getting comfy over there.” Alphys giggled. Didn’t they have anything better to do than tease them?

“Remember now Frisk, good girls wait until at least the third date.” Undyne cackled, and Frisk couldn’t help but get irritated.

“WAIT UNTIL THE THIRD DATE FOR WHAT?”

“For uh, kisses, Papyrus.” Alphys said quickly.

“UNLESS MISTLETOE IS INVOLVED, OF COURSE.”

“Exactly.” Undyne winked. Frisk suddenly remembered seeing some hanging in the doorway to the kitchen. They weren’t getting her that easily.

Well, knowing her friends, they were very likely to get her that way, but at least she knew what to watch out for. Frisk just really, really wished they’d stop meddling. Glancing over at the offending plant, she decided to take matters into her own hands, rather than risk whatever her friends could be planning.

While her friends were distracted by the movie once again, Frisk removed herself from Sans’ embrace - that was the hard part, and slipped into the kitchen. A pair of tongs and an unsteady moment on her tiptoes later, and she had a pocket full of mistletoe, as well as another plate of chips and cheese, to celebrate her victory.

She wasn’t sure what she was going to do with it, but at least there would be no awkward mistletoe kisses for her.


	12. Contentment

“What are you grinning about?” Sans asked Frisk as she nestled back in beside him. She had returned from the kitchen with one of her self-satisfied grins, and he had to know what was up.

“Nothing.” She replied quickly, feigning innocence as Sans wrapped the blanket back around the two of them. “Chip?” She offered him one, still grinning a little.

He shook his head, he had already eaten too much. “Come on.” He whispered as she returned her attention to the movie - Alphys had insisted that they watch Frosty the Snowman. “Did you eat the last of the cocktail weenies or something?” They were Undyne’s favorite, but tied for Frisk’s, and neither of them were very good at sharing, no matter how many of them were made.

“Nope.”

“Then what is that grin for?”

She was silent except for the crunch of her chips and the occasional sniffle, but the pink on her cheeks made him burn with curiosity. Deciding that he’d get it out of her eventually, he relaxed and let his arm fall back around her side.

“What’s in your pocket?” He asked, finding a bulge that hadn’t been there before.

She quickly pushed his hand away with an expression like a cat caught trying to eat a pet canary. “Nothing.”

“Doesn’t feel like nothing.” He replied with a grin of his own, trying to get her fingers out of the way so he could figure out what she had.

“I’ll show you later, just trust me you don’t -“

“Oi! Hand check!” Undyne called.

Frisk’s hands went up first - bad move - because Sans’ went up clutching whatever was in her pocket. It wasn’t until Alphys and Undyne started laughing that he realized that it was - of all things - mistletoe. Great.

“Just couldn’t wait, could you?” Alphys teased, and Frisk groaned.

“WHY DID YOU MOVE THE MISTLETOE?”

“I was trying to make sure you guys wouldn’t use it against us..”

Well that had gone great. “Nice try Frisk, but it looks like you two are under the mistletoe and you know what that means.” Undyne said in that annoying singsong voice she had.

Sans felt himself blush, but he could do this, it was just a first kiss with his best friend in front of all their other friends - but Frisk, looking determined or something similar - seemed to have other ideas because before he could think or move she was getting closer - a bit too eager to respond he all but jolted forward, and instead of a kiss he felt her teeth crush her lip into his.

Frisk made a cry of pain and pulled away from him, squeezing her eyes shut tight and holding her mouth with one hand.

He felt something wet on his teeth, touching his fingers to it he came back with blood. Their friends seemed at a loss for words - served them right, this was the second time their meddling had gotten her hurt - but that wasn’t the point. “Are you okay?” He asked, and she nodded, but didn’t move her hand. “Can I see?” He put one hand on hers and she allowed him to pull hers away.

Her top lip was split open, and already beginning to swell. He had seen worse, he had helped her learn to ice skate after all, but still. Humans just had too many soft parts for their own good.

“How bad is it?” She asked, sounding a little funny.

“Well your bottom lip is fine. Would you like me to rough it up as well so they match?” He joked, wracking his brain to remember the correct remedy.

“How about an ice pack instead?” She asked. Right. Ice packs for bruises and swelling, he knew that.

“I’LL GET IT!” Pap was on his feet before Sans could react, and he suddenly became aware of giggling from Alphys and Undyne.

“She’s fine, thanks for asking, guys.” He gave them an annoyed look.

Frisk put her hand on his. “It is a little funny.” She smiled despite him being pretty certain that smiling had to hurt.

Papyrus returned then with an ice pack, which Frisk held tenderly to her face as they continued the movie, Sans trying his best to contain his frustration - not only at their friends - but at himself. They couldn’t help but meddle and he couldn’t help but injure her. He hated to think of her as fragile, but she was human and humans were pretty frail, all things considering, and it seemed to him that it was only due to their determination that they didn’t fall apart.

Frisk nuzzled her head into his shoulder, and he gently lay his head on top of hers. Strange forces and differences aside, she seemed to be happy with her unnecessary softness, and Sans had to admit that it suited her well, even if she did injure easily. She was beautiful, warm, and content to snuggle up with him, and that was all he really wanted. Except maybe a do-over on that kiss, but that could definitely wait.

“How’s your lip?” He asked, once she had given up on the ice pack.

“A little tender, but I think I’ll make it.”

“Maybe I should kiss it better.”

She giggled. “Maybe later.”

“HUMAN, FOR NO PARTICULAR REASON, WILL YOU HOLD MY HAND?” They seemed to be getting to the part of the movie that always upset Papyrus.

“Of course Pap, come here.” She patted the spot beside her, and Papyrus scrambled into it, taking Frisk’s offered hand in his.

“The kid in this movie is as good at keeping themselves warm as you are, Frisk.” Sans teased, as the title snowman carried his human charge into the greenhouse.

“THIS IS NO JOKING MATTER, SANS.” Papyrus exclaimed, a tiny orange bead shining in one of his eye sockets. Oh Papyrus. Sans knew that he would be okay in a minute when the movie ended happy, but he still couldn’t help but be concerned over his brother’s discomfort.

“You know it’s always the same ending, right Pap?” Undyne said in her best attempt at a soothing tone.

“IT COULD BE DIFFERENT THIS TIME.” Pap sniffled a little.

“You can’t cry Pap, you have to stay strong for me.” Frisk insisted, head-butting him gently. Sans had never realized it before, but she seemed to have picked up the gesture from him and his brother. It was cute that she did it as well.

“WELL..”

“You heard the girl Pap, baby bones needs you.”

“I’m not a baby bones!” Frisk said indignantly, as the snowman became a puddle.

“I didn’t mean you.”

Frisk shot him a look of betrayal as Papyrus, bound by duty, pulled Frisk close and began reassuring her and the baby that the movie didn’t have a bad ending. “SEE, EVERYTHING IS OKAY NOW.” Pap said as the movie ended, as if he wasn’t the one that was worried about it.

“Do we want to watch another movie? I brought How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Alphys said with a yawn.

Frisk yawned too, still in Pap’s captive hold, who was drooping as well.

“I think it’s bedtime.” Sans replied. “Especially for these two sleepy-heads.”

“For once I’ll have to agree with you.” Undyne said, and Alphys nudged her.

Frisk yawned again. “Did you two fill up my car, or am I going to need to stop on the way home?”

Sans suddenly wished he had opted for another movie because he really didn’t want Frisk to leave. He knew it was a bit ridiculous, but he wasn’t quite ready to return her to her parents. “I’ll drive you home after Pap’s story.”

“THAT WAY THE BABY CAN HEAR THE STORY TOO!”

Frisk smiled softly, no doubt amused by the thought. Not even the loud ‘aww’ from the peanut gallery could ruin the thought for him.

After seeing Undyne and Alphys out - Papyrus having loaded them up with food, the three of them trotted upstairs to Papyrus’ room to read their story.

“WOULD YOU LIKE TO PICK THE STORY?” Papyrus offered, gesturing to his bookshelf.

“That’s okay Pap, pick something good out for me.” Frisk replied, perching on the edge of his bed.

“FLUFFY BUNNY IT IS!”

Sans tried his best not to seem disappointed. Papyrus had so many books to choose from, after all. He had made sure of it. “Can’t argue with the classics.”

Of course, Papyrus was asleep within minutes, even with the added excitement of Frisk being there to hear his favorite story again. Unfortunately, that hadn’t left Sans with much time to think of ways to convince Frisk to stay, or even if he should.

“I had better get you home.” He said, the door to Pap’s room clicking closed behind them.

“Yeah..” She said softly, almost as if she didn’t want to agree. He also noticed that the swelling in her lip seemed to have gone down, which was good on the not-getting-murdered-by-her-protective-mother front.

He suddenly realized that neither of them had moved or spoken for a few moments. “Or you could - heh - let me grab my keys.”

“I could what?”

“You could stay over, if you wanted.” He was really not enjoying this newfound awkward feeling between them, but he couldn’t say he didn’t expect it.

“I probably -“ she paused, pondering her lip with her teeth. “Well, it was still snowing still when Undyne and Alphys left..”

It had slowed down quite a bit from earlier, the roads were fine, but.. “I wouldn’t want to take the princess out in unsafe weather.”

“I suppose you had better cuddle with me to protect me from the cold.”

“I think we can make that happen.” He felt like he had won some kind of award. She was staying. It was like a dream come true.

“Which side of the bed do you want?” He asked as he closed the door to his room behind them, knowing full well that the uncertainty between them would dissipate, at least for the most part, once they were snuggled up and comfortable.

“Which side do you usually sleep on?” She asked, sitting cautiously on the end of his bed like she hadn’t napped there more times than he could count. This seemed different, somehow.

“Wherever I drop, usually.” Why was he being so cautious all of a sudden? She used to come over after school to nap with him. Why was this any different?

“You’re not helping.” She stuck out her tongue.

Maybe he was just overthinking things. He flopped into bed, pulling her down with him. “How about this?”

“Saans.” She squawked, pulling herself out his awkward embrace. He closed his eyes and pretended to snore, and she smacked him with a pillow. “You promised me cuddles, you weirdo.” He responded by flopping his arms out, one of them landing in her lap. This earned him another smack. “Come on.” She dropped the pillow onto his face and lay her head on it, and he responded by scooping her up into his embrace, rolling both of them over to their sides in order to wrap his legs around her as well. “This isn’t cuddling! It’s like a weird bear trap!” She tried her best to wriggle out of his embrace. “Saaannnns I didn’t sign up for this.”

He couldn’t help but giggle at her, still doing her best to wriggle away from him. “Looks like I’ve captured a human.” He teased.

“Oh my god, if you start that again I swear.”

“What am I starting?”

“That ridiculous capturing game again. Just don’t get Papyrus started on it again, okay?” It had been her and Pap’s favorite game when she was younger, but she had grown out of it faster than he had.

“But it’s his favorite game.”

“Sans please.”

“Oh all right. But it looks like you owe me a ransom.” He did have her captured, after all.

“Sans.” She groaned, pressing her head into his arm.

“Those are the rules.” He sang.

“Whatever it is, no.”

“I can’t have a kiss?”

She sighed. “Sans, you could have just asked in a normal way.”

“Nah, this way is more fun.”

“Okay, fine. But only because I was going to anyway. Now let me go.”

“If I have to.” He loosened his embrace and she rolled over to face him.

“You’re the worst sometimes, you know that, right?”

“I try my best to be.” He smirked.

“Okay, that smirk has got to go.”

“And how are you going to -“ She silenced him by pressing her lips to his mouth, gingerly with her split lip. His magic crackled somewhere in his ribcage, a warm emanating from his soul. He wasn’t quite sure how to kiss her back, but making up for inexperience with enthusiasm, held the back of her head gently in one hand, pressing his closed mouth against hers. Despite his magic sparking where her lips met his, it seemed more like she was kissing him than he was kissing her, but she didn’t seem to mind. Or at least, he hoped she didn’t.

She was grinning when she pulled softly away from him, and he couldn’t help but return her expression. She was so cute, her hair falling around her face and a blissful smile brightening up the room. Or perhaps it was the blue glow from his own blushing cheeks. It didn’t matter.

He also couldn’t help but go for another kiss, a shorter one this time, quickly pressing his mouth to hers. She all but jumped him when he pulled back, giggling and pressing a handful of short kisses to his mouth before burying her face into his neck with a coo.

“Happy?” He asked, pulling her closer with one arm.

She murmured something affirmative, and contented with her answer, he pressed a kiss into her hair, his entire body still crackling with energy. He felt like he could run a marathon, but he was also more than perfectly content to lie there with Frisk in his arms.

“We should sleep.” She murmured, pressing a kiss into his neck, his magic crackling where her soft lips met his bone.

Although not feeling as tired as he had previously, he had to agree, and they rearranged themselves to lie more comfortably on the bed, Sans curling himself back around Frisk as she lay on her side, his fingers curling around her soft stomach.

That reminded him. “I’m going to share a little magic with you, if that’s okay?”

“Gotta take care of baby bones.” She replied, and he grinned, pressing another kiss to her hair. She smelled like cinnamon and warm sugar, and he never wanted to let her out of his embrace.

Having almost forgotten what he was doing, he called out to their little one with comforting magic, their response timid but stronger than before, with a magic that felt so similar but yet different from his own, like it was evolving into something else. Still, he offered them his energy, starting to feel sleepy as it was drawn from him, Frisk’s skin growing warmer beneath his fingers.

“How are they?” She murmured sleepily, moving her hand to rest on top of his.

“Sleeping now, I think. They’re getting stronger.” He replied as she rolled onto her back, entwining their fingers on her warm stomach.

“Good.” She smiled softly, her blinks growing slower until her eyes stayed closed. “Sleep now?”

He murmured in response, wrapping his arm that lay beneath her head around her shoulders, and laying his heavy head beside hers.

“Goodnight.” She said softly, attempting to nuzzle him but running out of energy halfway.

“Goodnight.” He replied, removing his fingers from hers long enough to pull the quilt over them, before entwining them again with hers, where they belonged. Soon enough, warm and content, they fell asleep.


	13. What We Do For Love

Frisk awoke to the sound of whispering “She’s okay, Your Majesty - Tori. She’s okay, Tori. She must have just forgotten to tell you she wouldn’t be home last night.”

Shit.

“Why would I lie to you? She’s perfectly fine, I’m looking at her right now. She’s sleeping.”  
Frisk opened her eyes at that point and looked at Sans. He was standing over by his desk where his phone was plugged in, and he smiled a little upon noticing that she was awake.

“Do you want me to wake her up?”

Frisk held her hand out to take the phone from him, but he shook his head. “I’ll definitely have her call you when she wakes up - Mhm - Yes, I’ll make sure to let you know in the future, I’m sure she didn’t mean to - Alright, talk to you later.” It was really admirable how well he could handle her mother.

“You so owe me.” He said, setting his phone down.

“Sure I do.” She replied, looking around for her phone before finding it on the floor, it having died sometime in the night. “Can I use your charger?”

“You’ll owe me double, then.” He replied, flopping back down on the bed as Frisk plugged her phone back in. She switched it on and leaned against the desk, waiting to see how many calls she had missed.

“Take your bets, how many missed messages?”

“Hm. Twelve texts, thirty, no twenty five calls, and… five voicemails.”

“Mom never leaves voicemails, you know that. She just keeps calling. Thirty calls and five texts is my bet.”

Her phone started buzzing and chiming violently as soon as it finished booting back up. “Eight texts so far.. nine but one is from Alphys saying they got home safe.” She paused to yawn. It was too early. “Twenty three missed calls.”

“So what did I win?”

She set her phone down and crawled back into bed beside him. “More sleep.”

“My favorite.” He replied, pulling her against him.

She was almost asleep when she was awoken by a sound she couldn’t quite place. A slightly metallic tune, it reminded her of -

“Paps, it is too early for Mettaton re-runs.” Sans grumbled, his face pressed into a pillow.  
“I think that’s my phone.” Her ringtone for Mettaton was the opening theme to his talk show, but she hadn’t talked to him since he had called to tell her that he couldn’t make it to her graduation party. He had been filming in another country for his new movie or something.

She climbed out of bed and grabbed her phone, feeling compelled to see what the famous bot was doing calling her.

She had had barely had the chance to say hello before Mettaton’s loud, sickly sweet voice was smothering her.

“Frisk, my darling! How have you been - well, fabulously, I’m sure. Dearest, I don’t have much time to talk, I’m very busy, you know, but I just heard the nastiest rumor about you and I have to hear it put to rest before I could possibly go on stage.”

This couldn’t be good. “What’s the rumor, Mettaton?” Her voice sounded slightly strange with the stuffy nose she had managed to acquire, but she ignored it.

“I’m certain it’s not true, after all, you would have so much more taste, but not only did I hear that you were dating a certain lazy skeleton, but I heard that you, my dear little Frisk, are pregnant. And I just couldn’t believe it, after all -“

“Mettaton.” She said, trying to get him to stop talking and listen for once, but he continued to ramble about how he had told off the person that had given him the news. “Mettaton.” No dice. Whelp. Desperate times called for desperate measures. “Uncle Ton-Ton, listen to me.” She whined, like she was a bratty child. Sans snickered and she replied instinctively by flipping him the bird.

“Yes, darling?”

“Sans and I are. Well.” She should have just let him chatter until he forgot what he was calling about. “We are having a. Um. The rumor wasn’t exactly incorrect.”

She heard a loud, high pitched shriek that dissolved into a noise not unlike a dial-up modem starting up, like his voice always got when he got too excited. “Darling! You must come on my talk show, as the mother of the first monster-human child, it’s a -“

“No. Absolutely not.” She cut him off, for once. “This doesn’t need to be a big deal, really.”

“Frisk, darling, how can this not be a big deal. You’ve always been a sensation and this little stunt -“

“It’s not a stunt, Mettaton, it was an accident, for one -“ Sans had taken her phone from her at this point and Frisk couldn’t be more grateful.

“It had to be an accident, darling.” She could still hear the loud robots voice, despite her phone no longer being against her ear. “No one would -“

“Do you really want to finish that sentence?” Sans asked.

“Hello, Sans.” Mettaton said, missing most of his usual cheerfulness. “Would you kindly give Frisk back her phone?”

Sans gave her a look as if to ask permission to be a jerk, and not wanting to be convinced to go on television, Frisk nodded in response. While she wasn’t exactly sure why Sans and Mettaton disliked each other, but she wasn’t above using it to her advantage.

“That depends, Ton-Ton, are you going to stop trying to turn my girlfriend’s life into a scandal?”

Frisk didn’t process the next few things that were said, as she was currently trying to process the casual way that Sans referred to her as his girlfriend.

She really wasn’t the type to melt over something like that, but there she was, melting.

“We’ll want to wait until she’s showing a little bit more, of course-“

“I said we’ll think about it, don’t get your bolts in a twist.”

“That wasn’t even remotely funny, Sans.”

Wait a minute.

“Sans. No. We are not thinking about this.” Curse that charismatic bot. She held out her hand in demand of her phone.

“We’ll talk about it and give you a decision later.” Sans said, not relinquishing her phone.

“No.” She said indignantly. “Decision now. I’m not doing it.”

“I was hoping you’d come around.” She heard Mettaton say, as though he couldn’t hear her, and Sans ended the call.

“What was that? You were supposed to tell him no.” That was the last time she let herself get distracted by the butterflies in her stomach.

“I uh. He reminded me that I owe him a favor. And I hate being in debt to anyone, but especially Mettaton.”

She sighed. “You can fulfill it another way. I’m not doing this.”

“I said I’d try to convince you. Try. You don’t have to do it.” He held her phone out to her.

“Good.” She took her phone and set it back on the desk. “Why do you owe him a favor, anyway?”

“Do you remember when Pap went through his obsession with Mythbusters?” Speaking of Papyrus, she heard the sound of his alarm clock blaring from the next room.

“I remember that.” She had seen the episode he was in at least fifty times.

“Mettaton made it happen. His network owns their show, after all.”

“His network owns everything.”

“Right.”

Frisk yawned, laying her head against Sans’ shoulderblade. “People probably will be curious, once word gets out about baby bones here.” She mused, resting one hand against her stomach. It wasn’t flat by any means, as she had always been short and round, so she wasn’t sure if she’d ever actually show.

“You’re not actually considering going on Mettaton’s show, are you?”

“No. Well. I’ll think about it.” She wasn’t sure why she was even considering it, but I would make Mettaton happy, and there were perks to staying on his good side.

There was a very loud knock on the door. “SANS! WAKE UP! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD GO FOR A JOG WITH ME TODAY!”

“I said I’d walk around town and look at the Gyftmas decorations with you.” He called back.

“AND I SAID A JOG WOULD MAKE IT BETTER.”

Sans sighed. “Just give me a few to get dressed.”

“THAT MEANS YOU’RE GOING TO FALL BACK ASLEEP!” The door swung open. “COME ON - FRISK! I DID NOT KNOW THAT YOU WERE HERE! WHEN DID YOU GET HERE?”

“I uh, never left.”

“I DIDN’T KNOW WE WERE HAVING A SLEEPOVER! IN THAT CASE WE MUST MAKE A SPECIAL SLEEPOVER BREAKFAST!” Before Frisk could protest, Papyrus had scooped her up and was carrying her out the door.

“Papyrus!” Sans called after them, Papyrus stopping by the top of the stairs.

“YES SANS? - OH. RIGHT.” He carefully set her down. “MY APOLOGIES. YOU ARE AN ADULT HUMAN NOW. AND ADULT HUMANS ARE NOT TO BE CARRIED. EXCEPT FOR IN EMERGENCIES.” He looked at Sans for approval, and received a thumbs up in response. Frisk could only assume this was a conversation that they had recently.

“It’s okay Pap, it’s my own fault for asking for so many piggy back rides when I was little.” Papyrus had carried her around so much when she was younger, her mother had teased that she was going to forget how to walk.

“AT LEAST YOU ARE GIVING ME SOMEONE NEW TO CARRY AROUND SOON.” He paused. “HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO WAIT?”

Frisk giggled. “It’s going to be a few months at least. It needs to get a little cuter still.”

“I’M SURE IT’S VERY CUTE NOW.”

“It’s mostly just a soul and magic right now, bro. Give it a little while to look like something.”

“Hey.” Frisk said defensively. “It’s a very cute cloud right now.” As in in response, her tummy made a little grumble.

“A hungry cloud, apparently.” Sans said. “What are we making for breakfast, Pap?”

“ARE YOU ACTUALLY GOING TO HELP?”

“I intended to.”

“YOU GET TO MAKE EGGS AND BACON THEN. WILL YOU MAKE YOUR SUPER SPECIAL APPLE SALAD, FRISK?”

The apple salad was actually her mother’s recipe, but it was the one thing Frisk could make that Papyrus could never quite get the hang of. “I think I can manage that.” She replied, following Papyrus down the stairs. “What are you going to make?”

“WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE MUFFINS OR PANCAKES?”

“Is the waffle iron still out of commission?” Frisk asked, more to make sure that the gift she had planned hadn’t been spoiled.

“SANS STILL WON’T LET ME BUY A NEW ONE.” She knew she could count on him.

“Just trust me on this one, bro.”

“I HAVE BEEN TRUSTING YOU ON THIS FOR TWO WHOLE MONTHS.”

Frisk had managed to find one that made waffles in the shape of Jack Skellington’s face, they were going to be up to their ears in waffles for months. “Will you make the cinnamon muffins that I like?” She asked, hoping to distract him.

“OF COURSE!” Papyrus replied, already beginning to grab ingredients from the cupboard.

“Will you grab the mini marshmallows off to top shelf for me?” She asked, grabbing the bowl of apples off the counter.

“Speaking of marshmallows, would you like some cocoa?” Sans asked as he turned on the coffeepot. “I got those cinnamon sticks you like.”

“Sounds good.” She replied, giving him a little smile. He took such good care of her, but she really worried sometimes that she didn’t do as much for him as he did for her. Of course, Sans was not the type to ever seem like he needed anything, except for maybe a nap, but she wanted to take care of him as well. More than anything.

Of course, being pregnant made it difficult for her to even be able to take care of herself - not that she was stellar at it before, and she was already starting to get a little tired of it.

“FRISK. I HAVE A FAVOR TO ASK OF YOU.”

She looked up from cutting apples and feeling sorry for herself. “What do you need, Paps?”

“I WAS WONDERING IF YOU WOULD BE A SPECIAL GUEST ON ONE OF MY VIDEOS?”

Papyrus ran a youtube channel that was mostly advice and motivation, but she had been a special guest once before - they had done a special baking episode. “What is the episode about?”

“I MENTIONED ON MY LAST VIDEO THAT I WAS GOING TO BE AN UNCLE, AND I GOT A LOT OF REQUESTS TO MAKE A VIDEO WITH YOU.”

That explained where Mettaton got his information from. “I’d love to, but if I do an episode about baby bones with you, Mettaton will be upset that I didn’t go on his show as well.” And the last thing she needed was Mettaton upset at her. Refusing both of them was one thing, but making an episode with Papyrus after telling the vengeful bot no was another.

“METTATON ASKED YOU TO BE ON HIS SHOW?”

Maybe she should have worded things differently. “Uh. Yeah.”

“YOU HAVE TO GO ON METTATON’S SHOW. YOU’LL BE FAMOUS!”

She already was, sort of, but that was beside the point. “I don’t know how good of an idea that is, Pap..” She looked over at Sans for guidance, but he didn’t seem to have any to offer.

“IT WILL BE THE GREATEST IDEA. ALMOST AS GREAT AS ME!” His excitement could not be contained it seemed. “CAN I GO WITH YOU?”

She looked at Papyrus, at a loss for words. How could she tell him no? “Oh all right. I’ll call Mettaton after breakfast and tell him.”

Papyrus was an even greater bundle of energy than usual after that, chattering about how he had seen every episode of Mettaton’s show, and how his channel followers would be so excited that he was going to be famous, and every other thing that involved the idea of being on television again.

Soon, they had cleared away breakfast dishes, and with her tummy full of cinnamon muffins and apple salad, Frisk braced herself to talk to Mettaton for the second time that day.

Despite Frisk’s prayers that he would be too busy, he picked up on the second ring. “Hello darling, have you called me with good news?”

“I know better than to call you with bad news.” She replied, with only the slightest amount of sass.

“Frisk dear, you know there is no bad news, only bad reporting. Anything can be good news if you tell it correctly. Now. I don’t have much time before I have to get back on stage dear, will you be joining me on stage soon?”

“Yes, but -“ She paused and pulled her phone away from her ear as the bot screeched in happiness. Why he hadn’t gotten that fixed yet, she didn’t know, but she had heard from Alphys that he had gotten buggy since finding a different mechanic..

“Excellent darling! Is your email still the same? I’ll have my costume designer get in touch with you, you have to look absolutely fabulous! And of course -“

“Mettaton. I said but.”

He paused, and she could just see the pout on his face, despite not being able to see him. “I heard you dear. What’s your little condition?”

“Sans AND Papyrus will be going on with me.” She said, and Sans gave her a look.

“Me? Oh no. No way.” Sans started, but she gestured at him to wait.

“I unfortunately had to assume that you’d want your little boyfriend on air with you as well. Alright. And his brother too, the more the merrier I suppose.” He paused for a moment. “I have to go, but you take care of yourself, my little gem.” Click.

“Now what was that about me being on the episode with you?”

“You’re not going to let Papyrus and me go on alone, are you?”

“I figured I’d wait in the dressing room. Frisk, I’m not exactly photogenic.”

“And I am? Come on. I can’t do this without you.”

“I don’t know why you’re doing this in the first place.”

“I couldn’t say no to Papyrus.”

He sighed. “Couldn’t Pap have picked someone else to idolize?” The tall skeleton in question was showering, and therefore could not hear his only brother question his interests.

“Mettaton was the star of the underground.” She replied, looking down at her phone. “I should probably call my mother while I’m at it, huh?”

“Probably a good idea.”

“Right.” Speed-dial one was her mother, and she picked up on the second ring.

“Hello my child, have you finally arisen to meet the day?”

“I have, Momma. I’m sorry I forgot to tell you I wouldn’t be home last night.” She leaned against Sans, who had started playing a game on his phone, and he lay his head against hers.

“It is alright dear, I should have assumed, given the snowstorm, but I was worried that you had tried to drive in it and. None the less. I am glad that you are okay.”

“I’ll make sure to let you know next time. I promise.” She felt bad for making her mother worry, she could only imagine what she had imagined had happened. Her mother was good at assuming the worst case scenario, especially when it came to Frisk’s safety.

“My child, your voice sounds strange. Are you alright?”

“It’s just a stuffy nose, I’m okay.” She was definetly not going to tell her mother about running out of gas last night.

Her mother was quiet for a moment. “Alright dear, just make sure you’re drinking enough fluids. Your throat sounded a little sore yesterday as well.”

She wasn’t wrong, and it was a bit sore today as well, not that she was going to admit it. “I have been, don’t worry.”

“Alright dear. I’m at the grocery store now so I can’t talk for very long. Do you need anything?”

She paused. “Um, will you get me some ice cream? Do they still have the cinnamon flavor or was that seasonal?”

“It’s seasonal, dear. Don’t you ever get tired of cinnamon?”

“How can you get tired of the best? The peppermint flavor is good I suppose, if they have that.”

“They should. Will you be on your way home soon?”

“Do you need me to be?”

“Not necessarily, but I do need someone to deliver a check to Muffet’s bakery before they close today. I left it on the kitchen counter like a silly.” Frisk felt bad, she usually assisted her mother with the last minute things for the celebration, but she had been rather wrapped up in her own issues the last few days.

“I can do it. Is she making treats for the Gyftmas celebration?”

“Yes. Speaking of that, what are you wearing tomorrow, dear? I know we hadn’t had a chance to finish our conversation on the matter last night..”

“Um. One second.” She turned to Sans. “Hey, can I borrow one of your ugly sweaters?”

“Sure thing. Which one do you want?”

“You pick, anything is better than a dress.” She replied quietly.

“I think I’m going to wear a sweater with my friends, if that’s okay? You can dress baby bones and me up any way you’d like next year.” She returned to her mother as Sans got off the couch and disappeared from her vision. She hated it when he did that.

“Baby bones?” He mother asked, confused.

“It’s what we’ve been calling the baby, it started as a joke I think and it stuck.”

Her mother giggled. “My child, you are full of charm.”

“I’ll see you when you get home, Mom. Is there any other errands I can run for you?”

“Well..” It looked like her work was cut out for her.

“Send me a text, okay? I love you.”

“I love you too.” Click.

Sans appeared then, with a folded sweater in his arms. Frisk was curious as to if it had been folded previously, or if he had just folded it, but she didn’t ask. “Only the ugliest of sweaters for the princess.” He said with a wink.

“Thanks.” She replied, standing up and taking it from him. “The Momster is letting me opt out of full elf garb this year.”

“I was looking forward to this year though. I was wondering how she was going to top the literal couch she dressed you in last year.”

“I did not look like a couch!” She totally looked like a couch. The fabric was way too heavy for wearing, what had her mother been thinking?

“A couch in a corset top.”

“Sans please.”

“Nothing will top the sugarplum fairy dress though.”

“You still remember that? When was that, freshman year? I’m surprised we could hold the party at all with how much room my skirts took up.”

She heard a door slam. “SANS! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT TELEPORTING IN THE HOUSE?” It appeared Papyrus was done with his shower.

“I didn’t teleport. I took a shortcut.”

“NO SHORTCUTS! NOW THE ENTIRE HOUSE IS FULL OF YOUR WEIRD LAZY ENERGY.”

“Wait. Can he actually tell?” Frisk asked. She had always assumed Papyrus just didn’t want his brother to be lazy.

“Yeah. It leaves a bit of a magical residue.” He answered before calling to his brother. “My bad.”

“YOUR BAD INDEED.”

Frisk just had to shake her head. “Hey, I need to run some errands for my mom today, but I’ll see you at the Gyftmas celebration tomorrow?”

“I suppose I can wait that long to see you again.” His tone was teasing, but there was definitely something sincere behind it.

Frisk felt a blush rise to her cheeks. “Don’t be greedy now, you’ve spent the last few days with me.”

“And I intend to spend the next few with you, if I can get away with it. And then hopefully all the days after that.”

“Well. I’ve heard worse ideas.” This was a thing that was happening. But she had to pull herself away from how cute Sans was being so she could run errands for her mother. Even though it felt like she had been waiting her whole life to hear him say something like that.

“I’d like to hear your better ideas.” Almost cautiously, like he was afraid he wasn’t allowed, he put his arms around waist, and still holding the sweater against her chest, she leaned into him. Now this wasn’t helping.

“You could kiss me, for starters.” She had barely finished speaking before he fulfilled her request, gently pressing his mouth to hers. Despite having spent the night wrapped in his arms, her heart still hammered over the mere idea of her lips pressed against the smooth bone of his mouth, and the sensation of his magic crackling where they met was more than enough to make her swear off kissing humans forever, as she had certainly been missing out.

He pulled her closer still, and while she wanted to keep kissing him for the better part of the next year, she pressed one more kiss to his lips before she moved to lay her head on his shoulder. “I do really need to go.” Errands. For her mother. Who was working very hard to give everyone a good Gyftmas celebration. The least she could do was help out a little but it currently wasn’t very easy to see things that way.

Being a good daughter was so difficult sometimes. She hoped her kid wouldn’t find it as difficult as she did.


End file.
